Wednesday, October 12, 2011

The Intersection of Art, Fashion, and Commerce
















FLORENCE, ITALY
MUSEO GUCCI



In celebration of the company's 90th birthday GUCCI opened a museum inside the historic Palazzo della Mercanzia located in Florence’s Piazza Signoria. The concept was to honor the company’s leather goods legacy and celebrate the connection with modern art.

Also in the museum is a cafe and a Rizzoli book shop. The museum store's reported best seller is a €95 T-shirt with a print of a figure in a suit of armor carrying two Gucci bags.

These days you cannot visit a major city without seeing a fashion designer features with top billing in art museums. The topic is certain to open a debate in curatorial circles. However the cash strapped non-profits are facing many challenges including lower attendance, so no one will debate the blockbuster appeal of say Alexander McQueen at the Metropoltain Museum. There was a record number of 661,509 vistors that flocked to the museum in just over three months this past summer. This made the MET's top 10 exhibitions of all time and impressed this visitor with the installation, music, lighting, and even special effects.

Perhaps this is the gateway to the new generation that may have never stepped foot into some of these museums. Now if the MET Opera could take some cues from this story they might be able to secure attendance for another generation.



images courtesy of www.Gucci.com

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