Sabato De Sarno is Ancora-ing up our lives with a special project alongside Michela Pelizzari. Five icons of Italian design have been re-edited and customised the Gucci way for an immersive exhibition created by Spanish architect Guillermo Santomà at the Gucci flagship in via Monte Napoleone, 7, Milan. “Through Design Ancora, Gucci doesn’t simply celebrate old icons, it creates new ones,” says Michela Pelizzari, founder of Milan-based creative agency P:S, which co-curated the project. “The aura emanating from the brand spotlights five pieces by Italian masters that are perfect from a design standpoint but less known to the general public.” The pieces that have been reworked include:

• Storet by Nanda Vigo for Acerbis (1994, reedition 2020)
• Clessidra rug, Portaluppi Pattern Project by Nicolò Castellini Baldissera (great grandson of Piero Portaluppi) from an iconic design of Piero Portaluppi, edited by cc-tapis (2024)
• Parola by Gae Aulenti and Piero Castiglioni for FontanaArte (1980)
• Le Mura by Mario Bellini for Tacchini (1972, reedition 2022)
• Opachi by Tobia Scarpa for Venini (1960, reedition 2021)

All remixed in Rosso Ancora, the objects sit inside a muted lime green (chosen by Sabato) to create a metaphysical space. “If we had put the objects all together, we would have created a living room. Instead, we decided to remove the boundaries given by how we use these objects and create a sort of limbo,” says Guillermo Santomà. “Floating objects don’t have meaning or a function. They are just shape, materiality, colour.” A special edition of the objects will be available online on gucci.com.

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