The story behind the collaboration between Gucci and Hot Wheels A model of the Cadillac Seville signed by Aldo Gucci in '79 on the occasion of the centenary of the brand

2021 is the year of unexpected collaborations: if until yesterday it was the collaboration between Balenciaga and The Simpsons that caused discussion; and if before this was the collaboration between Fendi and Versace – the next will be the one between Gucci and Hot Wheels for the limited edition production of a model of the 1979 Cadillac Seville by Gucci in 1:64 scale. The collaboration is a first for both brands: for Hot Wheels it is the first partnership with a fashion brand, for Gucci instead it is the first collectible.

Discussing the Gucci 100 campaign, Alessandro Michele compared the brand to an eternal teenager capable of reinventing and evolving with the times. Words that are not a press release platitude but that actually describe and summarize the heritage of a brand that since its inception as a saddlery and luggage shop has taken literally the concept of "expansion" not only expanding its business, but going beyond its boundaries and transforming the Gucci brand into an absolute value that went beyond the product and could be applied to every product. This already translated into a great importance of the logo in the 70s - which Aldo Gucci personally designed and discovered that he could apply to a huge number of products which enriched the multiverse of the brand to make it a world commercial power. The Cadillac Seville by Gucci was one of the forerunners of this trend that since the 60s had found expression with initiatives such as the Gucci Galleria, a V.I.P. Lounge in the stores of Beverly Hills and New York where the brand's high-end products were exhibited together with works of art, gems, precious antiques - a brand experience ante litteram. 

There is a parallel between our era and Michele's Gucci, with the end of the 70s and Aldo's Gucci. Despite their historical differences, in both historical moments the company was at its peak, its worldwide diffusion very extensive and its maximalist style as it had never been. In both eras, then, there was a lot of experimentation with new retail concepts, cutting-edge collaborations and above all with the power of logos. A whole kind of aesthetic that not only re-emerges in the citations to the archive that recur very much in Michele's collections as well as in projects such as the recent Gucci Vault - but that will be destined to return to the fore when House of Gucci hits the cinemas, bringing to the screen the true story of the family behind the brand but also all its archival pieces. 

And if in the 70s it was a Cadillac that had to become an expression of distinction and luxury, today it is a collectible. According a report from Deloitte says that collectibles «not only serve as an alternative investment, but collectibles are tangible assets that offer satisfaction and pleasure to their owners». The collectible is therefore a sort of materialization of brand value that can be owned, exhibited, collected and therefore elevated to a system - but which, like many modern collaborations, must also not be taken for granted, find in its uniqueness a starting point of further value. And here comes into play Hot Wheels, a brand certainly nostalgic for many of Gucci's customers, but also a brand that has managed to balance in over 50 years of life its original vocation with the ability to attract real car brands that provide it with the original blueprints of cars to make its famous models. This collaboration is therefore located at the crossroads of different drives of the luxury industry and culture as we know them: nostalgia and celebration of the past and the love of the archive on the one hand; the power of the logo and the realness of the brands involved in the other; but also the value of cross-sectoriality in surprising the final consumer (who would have thought that Hot Wheels would have collaborated with Gucci?) so the purchase will not be limited to owning a model car but to live an entire cultural experience when you know you own it.