The Gucci Museum

Gucci Museum
Piazza della Signoria 10
Florence, Italy
39 05 57 59 27 010

For my money, no fashion lover’s trip to Florence is complete without visits to all of the different part of Gucci Garden. (I know the possibility of traveling seems remote at the moment. But I’m keeping hope for the future alive.) That means a meal at Osteria Gucci, shopping at the Gucci Garden store and an hour spent wandering the Gucci Museum.

When we booked our reservation for lunch at Osteria Gucci, the Gucci Museum wasn’t yet on our radar. In fact, it wasn’t truly on our radar until we arrived for lunch. That was when we discovered that the price of the meal included museum passes. They were bright pink and perfectly on brand. The prospect of wandering among vintage Gucci garments was irresistible.

(Just discovering the existence of the museum convinced me to visit. But the inclusion of passes with lunch was a lovely touch.)

You’ll find the Gucci Museum on the upper floors of the Palazzo della Mercanzia, above the Osteria Gucci and Gucci Garden store. It houses a collection that is large enough to hold your attention but small and well-curated enough not to overwhelm visitors. The coats and dresses on display really do evoke, at least for me, the essence of the Gucci brand and aesthetic. But it was the Travel Hall that really caught my attention, if not my camera lens. (I’m still baffled by how few pictures I took while we were there.) Forever an adventurer at heart, I loved perusing the array of old style luggage and accessories. It was a treat to imagine the fabulous places they must have been before they found a new home in the museum.

I realise that some might be inclined to point out that Florence is bursting with remarkable museums, which is true. It’s hard to know which ones to choose to visit, especially if you have a finite amount of time in the city. And I understand that we often consider fine art more culturally significant than fashion.  Which means the Gucci Museum might not seem like an obvious choice. But I firmly believe that fashion is art. While a Gucci may not carry the same weight as a Michelangelo from a historical perspective, there is beauty and craftsmanship, technique and talent required in the creation of both. If you have a keen eye, you can appreciate both for different reasons.

Personally, I love fashion museums for the history they hold as much as the clothing. The Gucci Museum offers fashion lovers a unique opportunity to see pieces that may never be displayed elsewhere. In that way, a visit is a totally unique experience – and one that I absolutely loved.