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MSGM Drops Capsule Collection With Milanese Pastry Shop Cucchi

MILAN “Divide and conquer” must be the brief Milan-based fashion brands have received for the holiday season, as companies have targeted local pastry shops to release co-branded collections this month.

After The Attico teamed with the Sant Ambroeus cafè for a capsule that marked the reopening of the location, on Tuesday MSGM revealed its move and picked the city’s storied Pasticceria Cucchi to drop a collaboration.

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If The Attico’s Gilda Ambrosio and Giorgia Tordini celebrated the local Ladies Who Lunch, known as “sciure,” who populate Sant Ambroeus, MSGM’s founder Massimo Giorgetti stayed true to the youthful attitude of his brand by giving a cheeky twist to the famous café, which was founded in 1936 and is infused with old-school charm.

Coming up with another of the inventive statements he usually adorns MSGM T-shirts with, Giorgetti marked the apparel pieces in the capsule collection with the message “Cucchi, amo.”

Besides the reference to the pastry shop’s name, the pun comes with additional meanings nodding to Italian slang. “Amo” is locally used as an abbreviation of “amore” (or “love,” in English) to call a person with affection, while the verb “cucchiamo” stands for “flirting.”

“In this new project, MSGM has shifted its attention to something essential that occurs every day in cafés… meetings and encounters,” said Giorgetti. The choice also reveals a hint of nostalgia for in-person gatherings and off-screen connections that were stronger in Milan’s heydays in the ‘80s and that have been Cucchi’s cornerstore through the years.

The MSGM x Cucchi capsule collection.
The MSGM x Cucchi capsule collection.

Along with sweatshirts, T-shirts and baseball caps with the embroidered wording, the MSGM x Cucchi collaboration includes a series of limited-edition lifestyle products featuring both companies’ logos, such as espresso cups and pocket trays. Cucchi’s signature panettone, the Milanese cake dotted with candied and dried fruits that’s traditionally eaten at Christmas, also comes wrapped in special packaging for the occasion.

Priced at 40 euros, the panettone drops this week at the pastry shop, where an event will be hosted on Thursday to celebrate the tie-up.

The MSGM x Cucchi panettone.
The MSGM x Cucchi panettone.

The complete capsule collection will then be available starting next month at MSGM flagships in Milan and London, as well as at the brand’s e-commerce, retailing from 30 euros for the cup to 265 euros for the sweatshirt.

This is not the first time Giorgetti is celebrating the Milanese landmark. Intended as a love letter to the city, his MSGM fall 2018 collection featured soccer-inspired prints on blanket scarves and sweaters that paid tribute to famous bars and bakeries, including Cucchi, in addition to Jamaica, Bar Basso and Pravda Bar.

MSGM RTW Fall 2018
MSGM RTW Fall 2018

On its end, the collaboration with MSGM is not Cucchi’s first fashion tie-up either. Before the pandemic, J.J. Martin’s La DoubleJ brand put its signature flamboyant touch on the café’s interiors and packaging for the holiday season.

Originally launched as “Café Chantant” by Luigi Cucchi and his wife Vittorina, the pastry shop became a Milanese landmark for its delicacies that attracted musicians, actors and writers over the years, spanning from poet Giuseppe Ungaretti to Oscar-winning director Gabriele Salvatores. Pasticceria Cucchi is still owned by the founding family, with sisters Laura and Vittoria representing the third generation and now in charge of continuing the business.

The MSGM x Cucchi capsule collection.
The MSGM x Cucchi capsule collection.

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