Every iconic product is accompanied by its own special story, like a unique heritage transmitted from mother to daughter. The Flora is a perfect example, with a multigenerational narrative filled with wonder. Frida Giannini, Gucci’s creative director, is just one witness of it: “This motif is especially near and dear to my heart because it was in the 70s, when I was a child, that I saw my mother and my grandmother wear the Flora scarf for the first time”. It’s a family heirloom passed down through the ages that is embodied today by Charlotte Casiraghi, granddaughter of Grace Kelly, for whom the Flora was originally created in 1966 by Rodolfo Gucci, the son of the design house’s founder. It was a specially tailored gift that was offered up after she purchased the equally mythical green bamboo bag in their Milan boutique. “My own collections being inspired by this eternal flowery motif, I’m particularly delighted to celebrate this icon by collaborating with Charlotte, who herself is personally linked to the history of the Flora”, continues Frida Giannini, artistic director of the brand before the nomination of Alessandro Michele. And so the new muse is crowning the perfect collaboration, symbolizing the Gucci women with her esquetrian aesthetic, somewhere between tradition, modernity, strength, luxury, and glamour.
An essential motif, the Flora is today available in the form of dresses, blouses, bags, or horse-bit moccasins. There’s something for everyone. A sumptuous hymn dedicated to the art of the flower, it incarnates “nature in all its beauty” according to Charlotte Casiraghi. To a botanical winter, harmoniously filled with simplicity and splendor. To a symbiosis between traditional and contemporary. To the eternal… Flora.
Flora by Gucci: Key Dates
1960 : Grace Kelly is photographed during Rome 1960 Olympic games with a floral foulard: her passion for flowers and scarves is widely renowned.
1966 : Princess Grace of Monaco buys a green Bamboo bag in Milan flagships store and Rodolfo Gucci asks the artist Vittorio Accornero to create a gift to accompany the accessory. Accornero takes inspiration from the flowers painted by Sandro Botticelli on the dress of the allegory of Flora from his painting “The Spring” to give birth to the legendary foulard and motif.
1960s : Vittorio Accornero’s creations on silk go viral. Everybody wants his scarves and the Flora world expands with new models, in addition to shoes and clothes in line with the 1960s trends.
1960s-1970s : Stars like Sophia Loren and Audrey Hepburn are early adopters of Flora scarves and dresses.
1973 : Caroline of Monaco, Grace Kelly’s daughter, is portrayed while wearing a Flora blouse.
1975 : Richard Ginori creates a unique collection of porcelain tableware dedicated to Gucci Flora that will become a must in Gucci productions.
1970s – 1980s : New models of shoes and bags, and new ads, displaying the legendary Flora motif start to pop out in Gucci collections.
2005 : Gucci launches the Flora Canvas bags for the Cruise collection.
2009 : Gucci launches Flora perfume and Flora 1966 limited edition.
2010s : Celebrities like Anna Wintour, the Kardashian sisters, Emma Stone, Anne Hathaway and many others go wild for the Flora motif.
2012 : Gucci launches the exclusive perfume collection Flora Garden.
2013 : The love of three different generations for Flora is celebrated when Charlotte Casiraghi is chosen as a testimonial for “Forever now”, also celebrating the Flora motif.
2013 : Gucci launches the innovative Hobo Diana Flora Bamboo for the Spring/Summer collection.
2013 : Frida Giannini reinterprets the iconic floral print on dresses for the Resort 2013 collection.
2013 : Gucci launches the Flora jewellery collection.
2014 : The artist Kris Knight reimagines Gucci’s iconic Flora print in a modern way.
2014 : The Spring/Summer collection is a celebration of Flora for men.
2015 : The exhibition “Gardens of silk” celebrates half a century of creativity from Accornero for Gucci Flora.
2015 : The Gucci Cruise collection is a celebration of the new Flora Knight motif.
2017 : Alessandro Michele revamps the legendary Flora code for the Spring/Summer collection.
2017 : Flora is again protagonist for the Fall Winter.
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