Gucci by Demna: 12 monumental tapestries celebrate the Florentine house at Milan Design Week

In April 2026, Milan Design Week hosted an event that had the entire fashion world talking. Demna, appointed Artistic Director of Gucci just over a year earlier, unveiled an exhibition as subversive as it was captivating. In the heart of the Chiostro di San Simpliciano, the Florentine fashion house offered a bold reinterpretation of its heritage.

A black pavilion in the heart of Milan

In the Brera district, posters for Demna’s first handbag campaign for the house were everywhere. Kate Moss and Emily Ratajkowski posed in their underwear, protected by a simple bag or wearing GG monogrammed boots. Their kohl-rimmed eyes caught the gaze of passers-by.

On the evening of the opening, a massive black pavilion took pride of place in the center of the former convent’s cloister. The structure was reminiscent of the monoliths in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey. Inside, guests inserted QR tickets into vending machines.

Each ticket delivered one of four canned cocktails inspired by the “La Famiglia” lookbook. Drama Queen, Fashion Icon, Mega Pesantone or Super Incazzata: the names played on Italian archetypes with biting humor.

“Some loved it, some hated it. It is Demna, after all.”

Monumental tapestries tell the story of the house

Further on, in a larger courtyard, a wildflower meadow surrounded a fountain. White, pink and magenta cosmos flanked deep-red rose bushes. Around the archway, 12 monumental tapestries told the story of the house under the title “Gucci Memoria”.

One showed a woman with Botticelli-like curls offering a grenade to a man in a bellboy’s uniform. The scene was a reference to Guccio Gucci’s time at London’s Savoy Hotel. Another showed leather craftsmen working in a workshop facing the Duomo in Florence.

• A trio of brothers posing as the Three Graces
• A family dispute in a Renaissance villa
• A tribute to Alessandro Michele’s Fall 2018 collection
• A Gothic reinterpretation of The Birth of Venus
• Demna himself, working on Mariacarla Boscono’s red coat

A mirror held up to Italian culture

With this exhibition, Demna questions our relationship with masterpieces. Where does the line lie between the treasures of the Uffizi and the kitsch reproductions sold to tourists? The question resonates strongly in an Italy that is sometimes too serious about its heritage.

This approach may seem cynical. And yet, it seems rather honest when we observe the crowds in front of the Colosseum or the smartphones brandished in front of Botticelli’s Primavera. The “disneylandization” of Italian cultural sites is a reality that Demna points out with humor.

Indeed, Italians can be solemn about their design and history. But not everything they produce is elegant. There’s an element of kitsch, and that’s what makes their culture so endearing.

A heartfelt tribute to Alessandro Michele

One of the panels paid tribute to Alessandro Michele. Demna and Alessandro Michele are close friends. They regularly appear in the front row of each other’s fashion shows.

This tapestry showed a bearded, dandy figure on horseback, leading a parade of figures carrying a miniature dragon. The scene recalled the exuberant codes of the Fall 2018 collection. Another work revisited The Birth of Venus with the blue silk shirt Madonna wore to the 1995 MTV Video Music Awards.

Authentic Italian craftsmanship behind the provocation

Despite its provocative nature, the exhibition is based on real know-how. The tapestries were woven by Tessitura Grassi, a family of craftsmen based near Bergamo. The company has been creating textiles since the 1950s.

The workshop’s custom looms produce pieces as intricate as those in the Vatican Museums. So, behind the apparent irony, Gucci asserts its role as guardian of Italian savoir-faire.

That same evening, the exhibition was the talk of Milanese dinner parties. Intelligent and witty, it takes seriously what deserves to be taken seriously: the transmission of exceptional craftsmanship. Logomania is still alive and well in the Brera district, and Demna has understood this perfectly.

The last tapestry depicted him sitting on a gaming chair, leather jacket on his back, applying the finishing touches to the red coat from the “La Famiglia” collection. A delicious meta-touch that sums up his entire approach. During the vernissage, he watched the guests’ reactions from an arcade in the cloister, clearly delighted to see them playing at spotting every hidden reference.

• Gucci