Gucci Museum opens in Florence

by McLean Robbins on

One of the world’s most well-known luxury fashion labels, Gucci, this week opened a museum in Florence. While we need very little reason to travel to Italy or to write about anything luxury, this museum seems worth a stop. The opening marks the brand’s 90th anniversary and incorporates both the leather goods and clothing that have made the brand so successful.

The three-level museum, opened to the public Wednesday, is housed inside the luxe 14th century Palazzo della Mercanzia.

Viewers will find handbags owned by Jackie Onassis and Sofia Loren in the basement Gucci Archivea permanent exhibit that houses clothing, accessories and photos from the brand’s history. Other notable items include a custom Cadillac Seville and gowns made for Hilary Swank and Naomi Watts.

Gucci’s parent company PPR also has similar museums for luxury brands Balenciaga and Salvatore Ferragamo.

[Image via Pursuitist]

Daily Pampering: Gucci’s luxury speed boat

by Melanie Nayer on

Leave your crocs and tattered t-shirts at home, kids. This speed boat is for the fabulously fashionable. Italian yacht builder Riva and design studio Officina Italiana Design collaborated to give birth to a new era in motorboats: Aquariva, the exclusive luxury speedboat by Gucci.

The boat made its debut in September and has been making waves ever since. The two-speed electronic gear features all the power of the two 380-horsepower Yanmar engines; the boat hits a maximum speed of 41 knots and a 150-mile range at cruising speed. And in true Gucci fashion, the boat has Gucci’s signature green and red stripes along the side.

Don’t worry, friends, if you can’t find shoes worthy enough to wear on deck, Gucci keeps a pair of signature flip-flops on board for you.

Want more? Get your daily dose of pampering right here.

[via CharterWorld.com]

Gucci sues over branded hotel in Dubai

by Melanie Nayer on

Things are getting catty on the catwalk. Elisabetta Gucci’s plans to open a global chain of hotels under the Gucci name may be blocked by the luxury fashion company. Seems Gucci – the goods – doesn’t want any affiliation with Gucci – the hotel.

“Gucci wants to make clear that it has no relationship to Elisabetta Gucci Hotels and that it is not involved in any project whatsoever with Elisabetta Gucci Hotels,” the company said in the e-mail, obtained by Bloomberg news. “If necessary, Gucci will take any needful step to protect its rights.”

Elisabetta Gucci, daughter of late fashion mogul Paolo Gucci, plans to open an 87-suite property in Dubai’s Media World district by the end of 2010, as Gadling previously reported. The Dubai hotel will be first of 40 planned Branded EG Hotels by Elisabetta Gucci.

The EG Hotels by Elisabetta Gucci is set to open only a few months after the famed opening of the Armani Group’s Armani Hotel Dubai in Burj Khalifa. According to Bloomberg, EB Hotels is counting on drastically lower hotel rates than those charged at Armani Hotel, in an effort to increase travelers. Daily rates at the Elisabetta Gucci’s hotel would start at 1,500 dirhams ($408) compared with 4,000 dirhams per night at Armani.

[via BusinessWeek.com]

Diane von Furstenberg designs London’s Claridge hotel guestrooms

by Melanie Nayer on

Ask any jetsetter to show you what’s in her carry-on bag and it’s likely she’ll produce a Diane von Furstenberg dress. After all, the iconic fashion designer does have a way with wraps (her legendary wrap-dress caused a sensation back in the 1970s and today, those dresses are a must-have in many closets).

Now comes word that von Furstenberg is bringing her designer dresses straight to the hotel – Claridge’s, to be exact – the five-star London hotel that she’s been a regular in for almost 30 years, according to the Wall Street Journal.

While Armani and Gucci work on the interiors of their new Dubai hotels, von Furstenberg is focused on decorating 20 rooms and suites in Claridge’s, four of which are scheduled to open next week.

“I’m very much a traveling soul. I have spent so much time in hotels. I know what people who stay in hotels need,” von Furstenberg told the newspaper.

According to the article, von Furstenberg had a hand in everything – from paint to furniture to art – in the new hotel rooms. The von Furstenberg designed rooms will also feature a vanity, traveling trunk, desk and cocktail bar that she designed specifically for the hotel.

Ever the traveler, and with a keen eye for fashion and photography, some of the rooms at Claridge’s will also feature personal photographs that von Furstenberg took during her travels to Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

[via Wall Street Journal]

Gucci to launch new hotel in Dubai

by Melanie Nayer on

As is the case in the fashion world, when one designer makes a statement the others will follow.

Enter: Italian fashion icon Gucci, who will launch its own hotel chain in Dubai, only a few months after the opening of Giorgio Armani’s hotel in Dubai’s Burj Khalifa.

Lorens Ziller, the managing director for Elisabetta Gucci Hotels says the first ever Gucci hotel will open in Dubai’s Media City by the end of the year. While construction has yet to begin on the hotel, plans are already in place to design the 87-suite hotel with the help of Elisabetta Gucci, daughter of designer Paolo Gucci. The Elisabetta Gucci website also states the hotel will offer 24-hour room service, a cigar club, a spa, fitness center and pool.

According to reports, Gucci also plans hotels in Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Oman and China.