As the world desperately seeks for solution to the raging impact of Climate Change, fashion designers and luxury brands are not sitting aloof. They, too, are concerned and are seeking for innovative and Eco-friendly elements that will help to minimize same issue.

It’s not strange therefore that Gucci luxury brand will be celebrating their bamboo 1947 bags when Japan marks it’s 60 anniversary.

The Italian brand will stage an exhibition in Tokyo dedicated to its signature Bamboo 1947 bag, displaying 60 vintage models of the accessory that have been revisited by Japanese artisans and artists, marking six decades in the country

At the end of 2023, there were 72 directly operated Gucci stores in Japan. The first store selling Gucci products in Japan, operated by Sun Motoyama, opened in Ginza in 1964 and the brand’s first boutique was unveiled in Tokyo in 1972. It was Gucci’s first store to open in Asia.

Gucci Osteria, conceived and curated by star chef Massimo Bottura, on the fourth level of the Gucci Namiki building in Ginza, received a Michelin star in 2022, one year after its opening.

The Bamboo bag was launched in 1947 and is distinguished by the curved bamboo handle.

In Italy’s post-World War II era, in which traditional raw materials were difficult to source, the fashion house’s founder Guccio Gucci decided to use the lightweight and durable bamboo as an alternative for the purse’s handle, supported by Florentine artisans in developing the design.

The design ushered in an expansion of the brand’s artisanal expertise due to the highly technical process behind crafting the curved stalk. The bamboo piece is softened and worked over an open flame by hand to take a semicircular form and, once shaped, is coated in multiple layers of lacquer and baked to achieve a shiny golden-brown finish. In light of the handmade process, every bamboo handle result is different from the others.

The Gucci Bamboo 1947 bag and its archival predecessors were among the key pieces that were showcased at the recent “Gucci Cosmos” exhibition retracing the company’s 103-year history.

Following its debut, the Gucci Bamboo 1947 bag gained popularity among Hollywood stars and the international jet set.

The style got an added dose of fresh attention in February when Miley Cyrus brought her Gucci bamboo bag onstage, pulling her acceptance speech out of it during the 66th Grammy Awards.