The indestructible daisy: Matteo Cambi recalls Guru and the 2000s Past, present and future of the brand as told by its founder
«My story is a cross-section of those years», says Matteo Cambi from the tall wooden stool on which he is sitting, surrounded by the special edition T-shirts he signed for the relaunch of Guru of last April, a brand he no longer owns but of which, unquestionably, he will always remain the founder. «Mine is a typical Italian story made up of a little bit of everything: made up of gossip, made up of wanting to appear, made up of wanting to participate or be someone who even through work could say something and could shout his achievements to the world». Matteo Cambi founded his brand in his twenties, he is now forty-five: in the meantime, his brand has changed hands and, on the wave of the resurgence of the Y2K aesthetic, it made its comeback under new ownership and a new look. Although some things do not change such as, for example, that iconic daisy logo. «That logo was born by chance», recalls Matteo, «this daisy was drawn, and it was contested by insiders at first. Back then the aesthetic was very surf-like, very American. We were beginning to taste the phenomenon of Abercrombie, of this imagery that was coming from the United States with the vintage, preppy looks. And so this daisy was out of place at first. But it was born that way and slowly it exploded».
A heritage, then, which not only returned today with the blessing of its founder, a presence now external to the brand, but which already in past years has left an indelible mark on the country's pop culture. The interview concludes with these words: «What Guru has left behind is definitely the great notoriety and strength of this symbol and daisy chain that is indestructible and indissoluble. More than 20 years have passed now. To this day its strength remains this and above all is that everyone, or at least almost everyone, knows Guru and the dais. And that is no small thing-we are talking about a historicity that is the same as the great brands that have relaunched over the years. Everyone knows it».
