Gucci just unveiled Bamboo Encounters in Milan, and it’s not your typical fashion launch. Held at the historic Chiostri di San Simpliciano during Fuorisalone 2025, the exhibition repositions bamboo—one of the brand’s most iconic design elements—through a global, multidisciplinary art lens.

Curated by 2050+ and architect Ippolito Pestellini Laparelli, the exhibit is both a nod to Gucci’s design past and a fresh exploration of sustainability, craft, and material culture.

Bamboo Beyond Fashion

The Gucci Bamboo 1947 handbag started it all. Bamboo, used first out of wartime necessity, became a long-standing code for the brand. This exhibit doesn’t focus on bags, though—it looks at bamboo as a medium in design, sculpture, and storytelling.

The show features contributions from artists around the world, each interpreting bamboo in their own medium. From sculptural light installations to hybrid materials, the range is vast and unpredictable.

Artists Who Reworked the Narrative

Swedish-Chilean artist Anton Alvarez showcases a towering sculpture where the natural form of bamboo dictates the structure. Palestinian artist Dima Srouji presents Hybrid Exhalations, a combination of handwoven bamboo baskets and glass made by artisans in Palestine.

Dutch collective Kite Club constructed working kites from bamboo, plastic, and ripstop nylon, adding a twist: a bamboo-powered kite-flying machine that keeps the art airborne—even in a windless courtyard.

Global Perspectives, One Material

Every artist brings their own angle. From Laurids Gallée’s layered resin structures capturing bamboo in motion, to Nathalie Du Pasquier’s silk-screened folding panels, to Sisan Lee’s engraved aluminum sculptures rooted in Korean aesthetics—bamboo proves incredibly adaptable.

One standout is the back studio's light installation. The duo, working between Mumbai and Turin, fuses traditional bamboo architecture with neon lighting. It’s part sculpture, part sustainability statement.

Design Talks and Public Conversations

Beyond the installations, Gucci hosted a series of public panels during the exhibit’s run (April 8–13). The topics ranged from craft and materials to narrative storytelling, featuring conversations with participating artists and curators. These panels created a deeper connection between the art, the material, and the cultural contexts behind them.

Why This Matters

Bamboo Encounters doesn’t just celebrate a material. It rethinks how legacy brands like Gucci can collaborate with artists, encourage cross-cultural conversations, and experiment with design thinking outside the runway.

Rather than just looking back at its past, Gucci shows how old design elements can evolve—and still feel completely new.

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