Gucci just can’t get enough of London. Earlier this year, the Italian heritage house chose the UK capital as the location for its Cruise 2025 show, taking over the Tate Modern art gallery for a collection described as ‘Englishness with an Italian accent’. “I owe a lot to this city. It has welcomed and listened to me,” said creative director Sabato De Sarno at the time, adding that the decision was driven by “a desire to be immersed in [London’s] distinctive essence, its creative driving force.” Now, mere months later, De Sarno has returned to the capital for Gucci’s latest campaign, and he’s brought a couple of very special guests with him.
‘We Will Always Have London’ is the latest campaign from the house, on ode to the capital city, with Debbie Harry and Kelsey Lu in starring roles. Shot by legendary photographer Nan Goldin, the ad starts with Harry in the back of a taxi, and some atmospheric shots of double-decker buses crossing the Thames, and young people looking bored and hot in hotel rooms. It’s all soundtracked by an orchestral version of Blondie’s 1979 hit “Heart of Glass”, of which Lu is playing in the video on her cello. Cue more atmospheric shots of the grey London skyline, said hot people making out and laughing in the backs of cabs, then Harry returns with a wistful glint in her eye to bring it all back round.
The ad also features the very aptly titled ‘Blondie’ bag, which we can see in Harry’s lap as she travels through the city. “Debbie Harry and Kelsey Lu, captured by the visionary Nan Goldin, are the protagonists of a story of people, places and moments,” said the house, in a statement accompanying the campaign, “an ode to the timeless allure of London, and the House’s deep connection to the city.”
This deep connection to London dates all the way back to the 1890s, when founder Guccio Gucci worked as a luggage porter in London’s Savoy Hotel. It was his various interactions with the hotel’s patrons and their luggage-based needs that inspired him to start his own leather goods business after he’d travelled back to Florence. Though it may be a deeply Italian house, London is an integral part of Gucci’s history, and De Sarno sweetly pays tribute to it in this campaign.
Scroll through the gallery above to see the campaign images.