Kuweight 64: ARTISAN EVENT AT GUCCI 360 MALL

Sunday 22 May 2011

ARTISAN EVENT AT GUCCI 360 MALL

On Thursday morning, I went to see the Artisans Event at Gucci Stores, 360 Mall. It was quite an informative and educative experience when Mr. Roberto (Retail Manager, Gucci, Milan), explained in detail, about the different types of leather they use like cow, python, lizard, orstrich, alligator and most of their leather is obtained from different parts of Europe, New Zealand and Argentina, to make their leather goods. Well, that's just the beginning. The leather undergoes a whole lot of lengthy processes from its original raw state to a desired state, condition, feel and texture required to create the leather bags (and other leather items). Different kinds of leather having their own qualities, level of ease or difficulty to work with each type of leather varies.

The Designer or Creative Director sketches the designs for the bags and then comes the Artistic Engineers, Artisans and other craftsmen who all have different roles to play in creating A BAG. You know, a leather bag is not made by just one person, it takes many hands, involving a number of artisans and craftsmen from its inception, stitching various parts, assembling the parts and accessories to the finishing touches with precision, meticulous attention and detail. It requires hours and hours of labour by dedicated workers who are so skillful with their hands to create a GUCCI designer bag. I was able to meet Costanza Assereto, PR Office, GUCCI, Italy who also explained about their dedicated Artisans who create master pieces. Each piece is never the same. She also explained and showed their lastest spring summer introductions, 'Handmade Bag', 'New Bamboo Bag', and 'Snaffle Bit Bag'.

The Artisan Corner had displayed custom work tables, special sewing machine, leather stand and various tools. They also displayed various kinds of leather material used, designer's sketches of their products, equipment used for hand embossed mongogramming for leather bags and a video display of their craftsmen at work. People who visited GUCCI got to witness the Artisans and craftsmen at work in the custom built workshop, a unique visual and educative experience of how GUCCI bags are made. A big thankyou to Costanza Assereto and Mr. Roberto for all the information and indepth explanation. Here are some pictures I took from the event.