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Gucci launched its first edible venture back in 2018 with Florence’s Gucci Osteria outpost, lead by Michelin-starred chef Massimo Bottura.
Bottura and Gucci are now taking their Italian cooking stateside for the first time, with Beverly Hills’ very own Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura.
First opening its doors to the Academy Award set over the past weekend, Gucci’s new restaurant is about as luxurious as it gets — appropriately, it’s located on the roof of Gucci’s Rodeo Drive store.
Marble, imported tile and velvet accents appear throughout, contrasting with the homely woven chairs, antique mirrors and occasional wood trim.
A striking view of Los Angeles’ skyline and palm trees complements the menu’s blend of Italian staples and subverted Americana. For instance, accompanying Florentine favourites, like tortellini with Parmigiano-Reggiano cream, is the Emilia burger, a lavish take on American sandwiches crafted from cotechino, salsa verde and balsamic mayonnaise.
California’s new Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura opened to the public on February 17 2020, with reservations restricted a mere 50 guests at a time.
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Gucci is not the first luxury label to try its hand at a lifestyle venture outside of the sartorial game. In 2019, international fashion label Diesel, together with the real estate group Bel-Invest, entered the world of real estate with their first residential Diesel building, located in Miami, Florida.
With an unconventional advertising campaign called “The Most Expensive T-Shirts Ever”, the label offered 143 unique tops that cost the approximate of a new dwelling, each t-shirt featuring a front-facing printed graphic of one of 143 apartments at Diesel's Wynwood Condo Development.
And at the climax of fashion month, French luxury label Saint Laurent revealed a new selection of condoms that were selling at €2 (roughly R35) a pop, exclusively at Rive Droite - the label's Parisian concept store. The exclusive high-fashion condoms came in a range of on-trend print wrappers - zebra, checkered, leopard, hearts, and preservative ears.
However, luxury fashion's most popular side hustle lies in the culinary space.
Earlier this month, Louis Vuitton opened a cafe and restaurant at its Osaka, Japan maison - Le Café V and Sugalabo V. A cocktail bar is also part of this new experience offered by Louis Vuitton.
According to Vogue, the two dining spots will feature dishes from famed chef Yosuke Suga, once the protégé of the 32-Michelin star-earner Joël Robuchon.
"The concept is an offshoot of Suga’s critically acclaimed (and impossible to get into) restaurant of the same name in Tokyo, which is currently ranked the 47th best restaurant in the world," Vogue reported.
With an interior characterised by "warm woods and sleek gadgets", it's expected that LV's dining spaces will become coveted landmarks to post in IG as popular as the Eiffel Tower, the swing in Bali, Bo-Kaap's colourful homes, the Milan Cathedral, and the "I Amsterdam" outside the Rijksmuseum.
Japanese style enthusiasts and food aficionados are already leading the Insta movement:
Other luxury labels that have forked out into the food and beverages industry over the past few years include Burberry, Jacquemus, Marc Jacobs, Ralph Lauren who also gave us Ralph's Club at New York Fashion Week in 2019 with a live jazz band.
Conde Nast Traveler introduced us to these opulent eateries in 2015, describing each as follows;
The Polo Bar, New York
"Rich leather upholstery, equestrian art, and well-executed classic-American food impresses—think oversized crab cakes, caveman-sized steaks, and heaping kale salads."
Thomas's, London
"At this refined, Art Deco inspired spot (think black-and-white marble floors and simple gold chandeliers) named for Burberry’s legendary founder, which opened at the brand's London Flagship, the menu mirrors the label’s signature plaid—reassuringly classic, with smart twists."
Pasticceria Marchesi, Milan
"The mint-green interior of the Via Monte Napoleone pastry shop looks like one of Miuccia Prada’s jolie-laide prints brought to life, and the sumptuous furnishings—in hues like chartreuse and chocolate—are exquisitely coordinated."
Café Marc Jacobs, Milan
"The cafe is in a picture-perfect piazza in Milan’s Brera neighborhood, and boasts the same luxe-American sheen that’s made the brand an object of worship."
Meanwhile, Wallpaper Magazine gave us a peak inside Oursin by Jacquemus & Kaspia - the French designer's Paris restaurant. According to the article, the restaurant's interior boasts a "Mediterranean scenery, designed entirely by Simon Porte Jacquemus," and it is a homage to the region of Provence where the French fashion designer was raised and that is the inspiration behind much of his work."
The Oursin Instagram page can be described as almost any aesthete's Achilles:
Additional reporting and images by Magazine Features.
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