Celebrity Life

Just in time for the annual back-to-school haul. Grazie, Alessandro Michele for gracing us with Gucci Lifestyle.

There's something about discovering new stationary that's so satisfying. A perfect point tip to sign the perfect script. A notebook with a Goldilocks 'just-right' kind of rules. It's a feeling engrained from nostalgic back-to-school days. Or being in the meditative presence of very neat, very coordinated rows of objects that's been carefully sorted by type, colour and purpose. It pulls you in snug and close; without the common courtesy of holding back one single second for your conscious mind to criticise, "Do I need another set of Post-Its?". The answer is yes, as it always is. So make room for the stock-piled stash in the overfilled drawer next to your desk.

And then, try to make even more room.

Gucci has just added to your school-supply-run dreams with a new Lifestyle collection. Ordinary everyday staples and supplies are reimagined with an unapologetic exuberance that the Italian House is known for. It's all grown up! Think allover logos, the signature Web Stripe, recognised motifs from the Disney collab, all the way to the latest GG Multicolour collection that sees the rainbow fabric re-sewn upon adorable animal-shaped bookends. It's a gathering of eclectic objects that you probably don't need, but know it would be so lovely to have.

"When I was a child, going to the stationery store and finding pencils, pens, notebooks, games, meant bringing a dream into my daily routine." said creative director Alessandro Michele. "They were fine, well-made objects that spoke of craftsmanship and that, though part of my everyday life, were able to give off a magical, mysterious and wonderful aura."

To the growing collection of 'Special Occassion' stationery squirrelled away, we say here are some more: pencil cases primed in the House's iconic GG Supreme canvas. Notepads printed in a bright variety of familiar motifs. Glass dome paperweights that double as decorative objet 'd arts upon desks. A Gucci-made letter case with 20 GG-watermarked envelopes and cards. Graphite pencils stored in handmade pencil boxes patterned with designs pulled from the archives. Colour pencils tucked in a roll-up case tied with a Web Stripe ribbon and a new, gold-plated refillable pen, designed with the perfect "Divine Proportion" between the cap and barrel, and engraved in the diagonal Gucci monogram.

Also, please put away that old set of tattered cards. You'll want the hand-crafted poker and backgammon sets, carefully stored in sleek briefcases –– that exact ones that resemble those from the House's 70s archive –– awash in either a multicoloured Geometric G pattern or neutral GG supreme canvas instead. Or the pack of die that forgoes classic dots for shimmery stars and decorative GG initials, all set in the bright Geometric G print. And the deck of cards, also finished with the glossy sheen of graphic Geometric G.

And when that first initial rush is all set and done, sink deep into the luxurious silk sets –– sleeping masks, neck pillows and pyjamas –– and slide exhausted feet deeper into soft slippers, looking over the new, much more exciting stationary haul that surrounds you. All while with the dramatic flick of the collection's matching wood-and silk fan of course.

To those of us who are fortunate enough to find themselves in Milan between now and 17 September, Gucci has set up its very own Italian stationary store, Gucci Cartoleria, in Via Manzoni 19. Of course, it wouldn't be Gucci without a sprinkle of imaginative Alice in Wonderland magic. A step within this "Wunderkammer", as Alessandro Michele describes, will see the whole Gucci Lifestyle collection on display and set in motion with tinkered moments of wonder that invites curious examination –– notebooks gliding through mid-air, chess pieces that checkmate themselves, micro-apartments with Gucci furnishings made for mice and a Narnia-corridor of endless bookcases.

The Gucci Lifestyle collection is available online and in selected Gucci locations across the city.

Image courtesy of Gucci. Credits to Creative Director Alessandro Michele, Art Director, Photographer and Video Director Max Siedentopf at Castello Sonnino

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