Planting the Gucci Cruise 2025 show at Tate Modern

Gucci Cruise 2025 · Tate Modern, London · 14th May 2024

For the Gucci Cruise 2025 show on 14th May 2024, the raw concrete Tanks beneath Tate Modern in London were filled with more than 10,000 plants that seemed to grow straight out of the floor. The planting was installed by a large team led by horticulturist Jamie Butterworth.

The Tanks at Tate Modern, planted for the Gucci Cruise 2025 show.

At a glance

• Event: Gucci Cruise 2025 fashion show

• Date: 14th May 2024

• Venue: The Tanks, Tate Modern, London

• Creative director: Sabato De Sarno

• Scale: more than 10,000 plants

• Jamie's role: led the planting team

The setting

The Tanks are Tate Modern's underground spaces, built as oil tanks for the old Bankside power station: raw, circular and entirely concrete. For his Cruise 2025 collection, Gucci's creative director Sabato De Sarno wanted to celebrate London, and he turned the Tanks into something closer to a greenhouse, with lush green planting taking over the space.

The collection itself was described as Englishness with an Italian accent, and the guests included Dua Lipa, Paul Mescal and Kate Moss.

Planting a fashion show

A runway planting is a very different job from a garden. Everything has to be installed in a short window inside a building with no soil, no daylight and a hard deadline set by a live show. The plants need to look established and natural from every camera angle, survive under show lighting, and stay perfect for the moment the models walk.

The effect in the Tanks was of greenery rising from the concrete itself, softening one of London's most industrial spaces into something wild and alive. It took a big team to achieve it at that scale.

Rows of seating backed by planting, ready for the show.

Jamie's role

Jamie Butterworth led the planting team for the show. It was a large team effort, bringing together horticulturists and installers to place more than 10,000 plants in the space.

Ideas to borrow for your own garden

• Group plants rather than dotting them around. Large, generous masses of one or two plants look natural and confident, indoors or out.

• Soften hard surfaces by letting plants spill over and into them. Planting that appears to grow out of paving or gravel feels instantly established.

• In shady or indoor spaces, foliage does the heavy lifting. Ferns and leafy perennials give lushness without relying on flowers.

The show in pictures

Show seating curving through the planting under the lights.

×›

Ferns and young trees rising against the concrete walls.

׋›

Seats for the show, set right into the planting.

׋›

The planting filling the circular Tanks.

׋›

A path winding between ferns and grasses.

׋›

Low planting softening the edge of the seating.

׋›

Small trees and trailing plants above the runway.

׋›

A mound of grasses growing out of the concrete floor.

׋›

A tree under the show lights, with plants trailing from above.

׋

Frequently asked questions

Who did the plants for the Gucci Cruise 2025 show?

A large planting team led by horticulturist Jamie Butterworth.

Where was the Gucci Cruise 2025 show held?

In the Tanks at Tate Modern, London, on 14th May 2024.

How many plants were at the Gucci show?

More than 10,000.

Who designed the Gucci Cruise 2025 collection?

Sabato De Sarno, then creative director of Gucci.

Planting for events and spaces

Planning planting for a space, an event or a garden that needs to make an impression? Find out about planting design and consultations or see all projects.

Sources: nss magazine · Hero