Paul MescalPhoto: Courtesy of Valentina Sommariva / Gucci

If the Gucci Cruise 2026 runway show at Palazzo Settimanni felt like a meditation on legacy, the after-party was pure celebration. Following the double-showing of the collection—first for VIP clients inside Gucci’s historic archive, then again for press and fashion’s front row in nearby Piazza Santo Spirito—guests were ushered through the golden hour streets of Florence to the cloisters of Santa Maria Novella, where dinner awaited.

Lit by hundreds of flickering candles and nestled beneath 14th-century frescoes, the long tables looked more like something out of a Botticelli dreamscape than a fashion dinner (see: florals for days). Guests including Julia Garner, Viola Davis, Paul Mescal, and Jeff Goldblum took their seats as servers circulated the first course—a menu designed by Gucci Osteria’s Massimo Bottura, the three-Michelin-starred mastermind behind the brand’s culinary wing. Garner, dressed in mossy green tweed, sat beneath a cloud of garden roses and peonies; Davis, radiant in a blue and cream floral mini, arrived with a bamboo-handled Gucci 1947 bag in tow.

The setting was more than just picturesque—it was historically loaded. Santa Maria Novella’s cloisters were originally part of a 13th-century Dominican monastery, and for one night only, they played host to Gucci’s global tribe: editors, collectors, artists, and muses. As dessert gave way to Negronis, the crowd rose to its feet for DJ Mark Ronson, who took over the decks and transformed the basilica into a dance floor.

Like the collection itself, which nodded to Tom Ford’s jet-set sensuality, Giannini’s tailoring, and Michele’s maximalism, the evening was a multi-era blend—steeped in history, but very much alive.