The Guccification Of Globe-Trotter

In a project looking back to the untold story of Gucci’s ‘British roots’, Globe-Trotter has produced a collection of distinctive luggage for the Italian fashion house.

In the recently opened Gucci Garden museum in Florence, there is a gallery called Cosmorama. Here visitors will find displays of luggage and travel paraphernalia going back to the founding of the House in Florence in 1921. Part of this exhibition is an exploration of a distinctive emblem that Gucci has used over time of a bellboy wearing a pillbox hat and carrying luggage. The origins of this peculiar motif lie in the history of the House itself, when founder Guccio Gucci worked as a porter at London’s prestigious Savoy hotel. The story goes that he was so inspired by the beautiful luggage of the hotel’s distinguished guests that he moved back to his hometown to start making leather travel bags and accessories under the Gucci name.

Now, almost a century later, Gucci creative director Alessandro Michele is revisiting the brand’s British connection. Michele has for many years travelled the world with his trusty Globe-Trotter and, for his autumn/winter 2018-19 collection, decided to see if Globe-Trotter would be interested in hand making a new range of Gucci luggage. So began a long process of research and development to see if it was possible to bring Michele’s vision to fruition:

‘Gucci’s eclectic aesthetic has really challenged us in the best possible way,’ said Charlotte Seddon, designer at Globe-Trotter. ‘This project has become not only about translating Alessandro’s ideas for how the luggage should look and feel, but also about how to achieve this technically. In the end it has led us to develop our first ever four-wheeled suitcase along with innovative digital printing techniques that we’ve never tried before. We’ve also used bamboo as a material for the first time – in the vanity case handles – as bamboo has long been a Gucci signature.’

The result is a collection of luggage in several different styles and sizes that incorporates signature Gucci motifs such as the double-G supreme pattern and the famous green-red-green web stripe as well as bold new prints.

The collection made its debut today at the Gucci autumn/winter 2018-19 catwalk show in Milan.