Last year Gucci staged their resort show at Westminster Abbey and this year it seems they'd set their sights on holding it at the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. That dream was quickly quashed, however, when the Greek culture ministry turned down their request. The country's Culture Minister Lydia Koniordou said, "We have a duty defend the importance" of the UNESCO World Heritage site, which is "a global symbol of democracy and freedom."
For many years it's been par for the course for the biggest luxury houses to stage their resort runway shows in impressive venues outside of Paris or Milan. Last year, while Gucci took over Westminster Abbey, Chanel brought editors to Havana and Louis Vuitton hosted them in Rio. The Acropolis, however, rarely grants requests to rent out the space (and Gucci has denied previous reports that they even offered around $60 million to use it). That said, one person who was able to get permission from the Greeks? J. Lo. The pop star had a photoshoot there back in '08.
[Splash photo from Gucci campaign, shot by Glen Luchford]
[via Business of Fashion / Harper's Bazaar]