From September 2nd-4th, Giusto Manetti Battiloro gold leaves brought an added sparkle to fashion, food, architecture as well as faces, at the grand event organised in Florence by Dolce&Gabbana to present the new Alta Gioielleria, Alta Sartoria and Alta Moda collections.
With the project #DGLovesTuscany, in cooperation with Pitti Immagine and the City of Florence, the brand chose to celebrate the city’s beauty and extraordinary manufacturing tradition, involving thousands of Florentine artisan workshops in its creation.
After visiting the headquarters, discovering the secrets of the ancient art of goldbeating and meeting the Manetti family, which has nurtured this tradition for over 400 years, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana chose to involve all the brands of Giusto Manetti Battiloro and all its gold leaf product ranges.
Manetti gold leaf – traditionally applied in architectural restoration and design – was used to create the iconic dress presented at the fashion show dedicated to Dolce&Gabbana Haute Couture at Giardino Bardini.
The precious lace dress was gilded with a double layer of gold leaf, exclusively applied by hand at the artisan workshop Spinelli Antonio.
Wooden frames gilded with Manetti pure gold leaves featured in the presentation of haute couture for Men, worn as surprising clutch bags in the setting of the magnificent sixteenth century Hall of Palazzo Vecchio.
Manetti gold leaf was also used for the luxurious set-up of the exclusive gala dinner organised by Dolce&Gabbana at Villa Bardini to mark the end of the fashion show.
An 80 sqm Manetti gold leaf carpet, gilded by the artisan masters Maselli and Valenti, inundated the floor of the villa’s loggia with golden light. The location overlooks the historic centre of Florence and the dome of Filippo Brunelleschi, whose gold ball was restored in 1602 by Master Matteo Manetti.
For the event at Villa Bardini the gilders of Decorestauro gilded the bar areas and DJ deck, once more with Manetti gold leaf.
Flashes of golden light inundated dishes and beverages(*) served to 250 guests invited by Dolce&Gabbana to celebrate the presentation of the new collection and the Florentine Renaissance.
For the occasion Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana chose to evoke the magnificence of banquets held at the Medici court and to write a new chapter in the thousand-year old history of edible gold, with “Gold Chef” by Manetti. The explicit preciousness of gold leaf, gold powder and gold crumbs added sparkle to surprising reinterpretations of caprese (served as a starter), gold and beetroot risotto (with which the chefs of Guido Guidi paid tribute to Gualtiero Marchesi and his famous “Gold and saffron risotto”), gold-crusted fillet and sumptuous chocolate dessert(*).
Ice in wine coolers and wines were decorated with vibrant touches of golden light emitted by “Gold Chef” edible gold flakes(*).
During the event Manetti’s cosmetic gold “Beauty Gold” was used by Dolce&Gabbana as a special gift to thank its guests. Each one of them received a gold body treatment (including the exclusive pure gold face mask used by top spas worldwide) and a 23kt gold make-up kit, the most recent gold leaf product introduced onto the international market by Giusto Manetti Battiloro.
“We are proud to celebrate our 200th year by participating in this great event, a tribute to Florence’s beautiful and unmatchable manufacturing tradition”, Niccolò Manetti explains. “This is where our family first embraced the ancient art of goldbeating, already in the late sixteenth century, and it is here that in 1820 our artisan workshop turned into a veritable firm and a brand which today is world leader in gold leaf production”.