We do live suspended between the physical and the digital worlds, yet communications mainly take place in a digital realm nowadays - with emails, messages on social media and chats via mobile apps.
That said, if you like fashion, still have a passion for writing the odd letter or postcard to a friend, are looking for a Christmas present for a fashionista or want to tap (without going bankrupt...) into the current "House of Gucci" trend while we wait for Ridley Scott's film (with Lady Gaga starring as Patrizia Reggiani), look no further than the Gucci stamp.
In September Poste Italiane (the Italian Post Office) and the Italian Ministry of Economic Development, released a stamp to celebrate Gucci's 100th anniversary.
Part of the series entitled "The excellences of the manufacturing and economic system" promoting the "Made in Italy" brands, the stamp, printed by the Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato in rotogravure, is inspired by the trademark Flora print and features the brand's logo and the words "Dal 1921" (Since 1921).
The print was originally made for Gucci by Vittorio Accornero de Testa in 1966 and it turned throughout the decades into the House's most iconic and distinctive design of the brand.
The 1.10 euros stamp, issued in September in a circulation of 300,000 copies, is the result of a collaboration between Gucci itself and the State Mint.
They also released a special collector's limited edition folder in 3,000 copies (18 euros, but on eBay you may find it for around 50 euros...) with a custom envelope containing an A4 philatelic folder with the single stamp, a quatrain of stamps, a stamped postcard, an envelope for the first day of issue and an identification card.
The folder also features a short text signed by the CEO of the brand, Marco Bizzarri, and by Creative Director Alessandro Michele, highlighting how the brand "was born out of a dream. A dream of beauty and entrepreneurship, Italian style."
This is not the first time the Italian post office pays tribute to a fashion house: in the past there have been stamps celebrating Armani, Gianfranco Ferré, Prada, Dolce & Gabbana, Krizia and Laura Biagiotti. Yet, design-wise, this is surely the most colourful stamp ever released dedicated to a fashion house and the most original since it has an oval shape.
The stamp and the folder are available from the stamp collection counters at Italian Post Offices or on the poste.it website (deliveries have been a bit slow with orders made in September sent between October and November).
While this may not be as technologically advanced as a Gucci NFT, it is maybe more engaging as you may use it to write to a friend and surprise them. Critics defined Alessandro Michele's early collections for Gucci as "librarian chic", but this is definitely more "stamp collector chic".
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