MILAN — A tobacco shop doesn’t scream Christmas spirit, but Giuliano Calza is looking to change that.
In tune with his mission to cast a new light on all things pop, the GCDS cofounder and creative director decided to mark the holiday season with an unconventional activation, taking over a tobacco shop in Milan’s Isola district.
The project stems from Calza’s desire to rediscover his brand’s Italian origins and reinterpret an archetypal place that he considers pivotal in the local urban scene, since it has always been a gathering point for different generations and set for conviviality and play.
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“Milan seems like such a solitary city nowadays,” said Calza. “Catching up at the bar with friends over a spritz or a game of cards is a community act. We wanted to recreate that feeling of belonging and make it the core of this activation, transforming a commonplace into a collective experience.”
Named “Tabaccheria GCDS,” the space revamped with fire-red interiors will also smartly serve as a stage to launch the latest GCDS collaborations and gadgets, reinforcing its strategy of creating buzz with limited-edition drops.
To be sure, the pop-up will run Thursday to Dec. 18 and will be open every day from 9 a.m. CET to 11 p.m. CET. On the opening day, a first drop of products will be available at the location, as well as on the GCDS online store. Throughout the month, different gadgets will be released, timed with events animating the space, such as a karaoke night scheduled on Nov. 27; a Burraco night dedicated to the popular Italian card game on Dec. 2 and the soirée devoted to the traditional Tombola raffle on Dec. 11.
“GCDS was born from play and irony, and amid the end-of-year frenzy, I like to think of this [space] as a small urban antidote,” said Calza, adding that he wanted to transform the location into “a pre-Christmas playground filled with absurd, ironic and collectible objects, because today we need to share something more than a scroll.”
The limited-edition items will reflect the “Toys for Adults” approach to products the designer first introduced with the GCDS fall 2024 show.
Priced between roughly 4 euros to 45 euros, gadgets will include the likes of a GCDS magic ball revealing cheeky answers; play cards and lighters decked in hentai prints; logoed ceramic ashtrays and coffee cups, as well as plush coin pouches and key chains, among others. Calza also partnered with Ploom to develop a special case for the company’s heated tobacco devices that is inspired to GCDS’ popular Comma Notte bag.
Those looking for more traditional gifts could count on GCDS-themed Christmas balls; a raffle game developed in collaboration with Outpump; a house-shaped box containing three takes on the typical Panettone cake with different creams to match created with Casa Infante, and Sant’Eufemia olive oils wrapped in pop packaging.
The strategy aims to build on the success of previous collaborations, which were similarly infused with a combination of humor and nostalgia. For one, as reported earlier this year, Calza most recently tapped into the collectible toy craze releasing an Italy-themed Polly Pocket compact as part of his tie-up with Mattel Inc. Also in that case, the limited edition was flanked by gadgets, in addition to a dedicated ready-to-wear capsule collection.