Where was the Gucci Bloom fragrance ad filmed?

There are fragrances that smell beautiful, and then there are fragrances that build entire worlds. Gucci Bloom has always belonged to the latter category. Since its launch, the scent—a rich narrative of jasmine, tuberose, and Rangoon creeper—has been brought to life through a series of cinematic advertisements that are as intoxicating as the perfume itself.

For fans and travelers alike, the question often arises: Where was the Gucci Bloom fragrance ad filmed? The answer takes us on a journey from the surreal, mystical landscapes of Italy to the hidden, dream-like gardens of New York. Let's explore the real and imagined locations that form the backdrop for this iconic campaign.

The Surrealist Masterpiece: La Scarzuola in ItalyThe most recent and visually arresting chapter in the Gucci Bloom story is the "Profumo di Fiori" campaign. This film is a feast for the senses, featuring the ethereal Florence Welch (of Florence + The Machine) and the legendary Anjelica Huston wandering through what appears to be an abandoned, fantastical city.

Watch the full "Profumo di Fiori" film here:

A City Built on DreamsThe location for this surrealist masterpiece is not a movie set or a CGI creation. It is a real, tangible, and deeply strange place called La Scarzuola. Hidden in the hills of Montegabbione, in the Umbria region of Italy, La Scarzuola is what its creator, architect Tomaso Buzzi, called an "ideal city."

Unlike the ancient ruins that dot the Italian countryside, La Scarzuola is a 20th-century construction, built between 1958 and 1978. Buzzi designed it as a monumental complex inspired by his mystical and esoteric visions. It is a collection of theaters, temples, pyramids, and fantastical buildings that blend classical Roman architecture with surrealist nightmares and sacred geometry.

Walking through La Scarzuola is like walking through someone's subconscious. It's a place where perspectives are skewed, where staircases lead to nowhere, and where ancient gods seem to lurk around every corner. This makes it the perfect setting for the "Profumo di Fiori" narrative.

Why La Scarzuola?The choice of La Scarzuola is no accident. The Gucci Bloom woman is not just any woman; she is a wanderer, a dreamer, a collector of beautiful and strange experiences. By placing Florence Welch and Anjelica Huston in this abandoned "ideal city," the ad suggests that the fragrance is for those who find beauty in the forgotten, the mysterious, and the transcendent.

The "abandoned theaters" you see them exploring are not just empty buildings; they are stages waiting for stories to be told. Florence, with her modern, poetic energy, and Anjelica, with her old-Hollywood mystique, become the ghosts and the guardians of this place. The scent of Bloom becomes the scent of the city itself—a floral explosion rising from the stone.

The Original Dream: New York and Its Hidden GardensBefore the journey to Italy, there was the original vision. The campaign that launched Gucci Bloom into the world was equally ambitious in its location scouting, blending the urban with the natural to create a "dream world."

The original film starred a trio of modern muses: Dakota Johnson, Hari Nef, and Petra Collins (who also directed the film). This collaboration was a landmark moment, bringing together actresses and artists who embodied the creative, multifaceted spirit of the brand.

Watch scenes from the original campaign here:

A Tale of Two Worlds

The original Gucci Bloom ad was filmed in a deliberate mix of locations that serve to confuse and delight the eye. It seamlessly blends the gritty, energetic reality of New York City with the lush, private tranquility of hidden gardens.

The Urban Jungle: The New York segments ground the film in a sense of reality. We see the women moving through apartments, through city streets, carrying armfuls of flowers. This urban setting suggests that the fragrance is for the woman who lives in the real world—she has a job, a life, a city to conquer. But she carries the garden with her.

The Dream Gardens: Interspersed with the city scenes are shots of the women in a lush, overgrown garden. This is the "world of dreams" evoked in the campaign's description. It's a space that feels both familiar and impossible—a secret garden hidden in the heart of the metropolis. These scenes were likely filmed in specialized studios and private gardens designed to look like an Edenic paradise.

The magic of the original film is in this contrast. It tells us that Bloom is the bridge between the concrete and the petal, between the daily grind and the weekend escape. It is the scent that allows you to be both a city dweller and a wood nymph.

The Short Film: A Burst of Floral Energy

To complement the longer narratives, Gucci also released a shorter, 30-second edit of the "Profumo di Fiori" campaign. This version focuses intensely on the floral explosion at the heart of the fragrance.

Watch the short version here: 

While this edit doesn't explore the architecture of La Scarzuola in as much detail, it serves a different purpose. It's a burst of pure, concentrated imagery. The flowers become the location themselves. The camera lingers on petals, on blooms, on the act of flowers being carried and arranged. It reminds us that ultimately, the true location of any fragrance ad is the landscape of the scent itself—a landscape made of jasmine, tuberose, and the intoxicating Rangoon creeper.

Why Location Matters in Fragrance Advertising

The meticulous attention to location in these campaigns highlights a crucial truth about perfume marketing: scent is inextricably linked to place.

• Emotional Geography: We don't just remember smells; we remember where we were when we smelled them. By setting the ads in these evocative locations—a surrealist Italian city, a secret New York garden—Gucci is planting its fragrance in our emotional memory. We may never visit La Scarzuola, but we will always associate Gucci Bloom with its mysterious, dreamlike beauty.

• Brand Identity: The choice of locations reinforces Gucci's identity under creative director Alessandro Michele (who oversaw these campaigns). It's a brand that loves the eclectic, the historical, the mystical, and the beautifully strange. La Scarzuola is the physical embodiment of that aesthetic.

• Storytelling: A beautiful bottle is not enough. Consumers want a story. The locations provide the stage for that story, allowing muses like Florence Welch, Anjelica Huston, and Dakota Johnson to act out the fantasy that the perfume invites you to live.

Conclusion: The Map of a Fragrance

So, the next time you spray on Gucci Bloom, you can close your eyes and travel. You can find yourself in the surreal theaters of La Scarzuola in Umbria, wandering through Buzzi's "ideal city" with Florence Welch. Or you can find yourself in the hidden gardens of New York, walking beside Dakota Johnson, carrying armfuls of flowers through the urban landscape.

The answer to "where was the Gucci Bloom ad filmed?" is not a single point on a map. It's a constellation of locations—real and imagined, urban and wild, ancient and modern. It's a testament to the power of great advertising to turn a bottle of perfume into a passport to another world.

Click the links above to visit these dreamscapes for yourself, and let the journey begin.

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