The Gucci Bamboo Bag is one of the most representative models of the Maison. In the brand’s history, the unmistakable bag with bamboo handle has been re-invented in countless versions. Always new, but always true to herself. And today, not only is it one of the bags, the most iconic of all times, but it is a fundamental part of the identity of the Gucci Maison.
In homage to the tradition of the accessories for horse-riding, for which she was born, the house of Gucci in Florence in 1947, Guccio Gucci produces a bag inspired by a saddle to the horse. Black leather, burgundy, or bleu marine, he was instantly recognizable thanks to a little unusual detail to the fashion of the time, that the bamboo handle is Japanese. A small detail that was poverty-born to replace the failure of the leather of the post-war period and the exotic to feed the need for hope, escape, and travel.
The economic boom, the desire for luxury, and the increasingly widespread search for craftsmanship connected to the “Made in Italy” make a bag from the bamboo handle a success. And thus, in the years ’50 and ’60 here she is on the arm of Hollywood stars such as Liz Taylor and Vanessa Redgrave. In 1954, Ingrid Bergman carried it with her for the first time in the film world, thanks to the film “Viaggio in Italia” di Roberto Rossellini. From that moment on, the Gucci Bamboo Bag became the it-bag of the international jet-set and all the stars they yearn for a sample.
The current creative director of Gucci, Alessandro Michele, and its predecessors, Frida Giannini (2006 – 2015) and Tom Ford (1994 – 2004), all suffered from the charm of the Gucci Bamboo Bag. According to the season’s latest trends, the first models of the “Bamboo Bag” were to replicate the classic design and rounded materials, and different finishes. Leathers, fabrics of different colors, such as satin, silk, or smooth skin, hand-polished, no great acts of creativity.
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With the arrival of Tom Ford, the creative direction of the brand, the famous bamboo handle, found space in the new models. From what soft bag, with double handle and shoulder strap, python leather turquoise; the precious suitcase, hard, style, 24h, crocodile leather with a polished mirror; up to the daily bag, leather and raffia weaved with handle, bamboo oversize.
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2010 sees the relaunch of the original design, and the model was renamed as the New Bamboo, designed by Frida Giannini. The classic silhouette was renovated according to the modern taste of the period and embellished with stitching rounded details in the polished metal and a double tassel and decorative. The Gucci handbag with bamboo handle had an actual moment of revival in versions of shopping bags, soft Nappa leather, or crocodile leather.
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With Alessandro Michele, the Gucci Bamboo Bag lives the first time back in the ad campaign, shot by Glen Luchford for Fall 2017. The model in the pictures, made of ostrich leather, milk-white, reminiscent of the silhouette of the first models of the year’s Fifty. Very similar, but with a push-button, is also the new Bamboo Bag seen during the fashion show Gucci Air.
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About 70 years after creating the original model, the Gucci Bamboo Bag, with its unique bamboo handle, has managed to survive to the trends passing fashion. The bag the most emblematic of the maison, has reflected every time the taste of the time while always remaining true to herself. He has written and continues to write new pages in the history of florentine Maison.
