Gucci Garden

March 22, 2019March 22, 2019 | Design & Culture by Ed

Florence is Gucci, Gucci is Florence. Gucci Garden is a must-see in this city, but I wouldn’t take it too seriously. I mean, it’s not a museum written with capital ‘M’. Still, it’s an experience, like anything Gucci and Alessandro Michele pull off together. Inside the historic Palazzo della Mercanzia, the museo is housed, conceived by creative director Alessandro Michele. The newly designed space features a store with one-of-a-kind items, the Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura and the Gucci Garden Galleria exhibition rooms curated by critic Maria Luisa Frisa. Divided into a series of themed rooms, the Gucci Garden Galleria narrates the brand’s new vision while celebrating the archives including old advertising campaigns, artisans’ images, retro objects. From the Double G motif to Michele’s Guccification, the house’s universe is presented in a subverted, slightly surreal way. ‘Paraphernalia’ is a room dedicated to signature codes and symbols that define Gucci’s identity while ‘Cosmorama’ reveals the historical jet-set customer of Gucci. My favourite part? Anything by Tom Ford (the white slit dress, iconic kamasutra bomber jacket…). Was quite surprised the brand completely erased Frida Gianini from its history, though…

Photos by Edward Kanarecki.

Untamed Eclecticism. Gucci AW19

March 4, 2019March 4, 2019 | Design & Culture by Ed

Alessandro Michele‘s Gucci is like an endless rollercoaster – sometimes, you just love the craziness of the entire thing; sometimes, you’re near puking. This time, however, I felt the first. In a venue covered with more than 120,000 LED lightbulbs and a 100-meter long mirrored runway, a tribe of beautifully eccentric individuals made an appearance. Rich in tailoring, pattern and opulent decoration, many of the looks were worn with masks of all sorts. Spiked, coloured, one in the form a of an eagle, the masks represented showing and hiding who we are, and to protect the kindness and beauty inside. Fantastical shapes, faux fur accessories in the boldest shades and gold metal ear coverings inspired by the 24-karat gold work ‘Fashion Fiction #1’ from 1968 by artist Eduardo Costa were all here, matched and mismatched in true manner of Michele. Those elongated jackets, wide trousers, ornate robes, dresses with puffed sleeve (and whatever else you see here) are no longer for women or men specifically. Alessandro wants to create clothes for individuals, who no longer limit themselves through gender boundaries. He does so, with his eternal love for untamed eclecticism.

All collages by Edward Kanarecki.

Distinct. Gucci Pre-Fall 2019

December 21, 2018December 21, 2018 | Design & Culture by Ed

While we all got used to Gucci‘s extravaganza surrounding each collection, whether it’s a cementary on fire or Jane Birkin singing mid-show, Alessandro Michele‘s pre-fall 2019 look-book is just… there. Photographed by Harmony Korine, the collection is distinctly Gucci, in a very Michele’s over-the-top manner. We’ve got floral kaftans, babooshka headscarves (thanks, Asap Rocky), richly embellished eveningwear, eccentric-chic faux-fur coats, geeky sandals, a bit of power dressing in bold fuchsia, logomania, zebra prints and lots, lots more. Shortly speaking, it’s a regular Gucci line-up.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Le Palace, Jane and The Past. Gucci SS19

September 25, 2018September 25, 2018 | Design & Culture by Ed

The first day of fashion week felt like a present you’ve been waiting for for a long time, but in the end you didn’t really get what you wanted. Three collections: the boringly beautiful Dior (rumoured to be the last coming from Maria Grazia Chiuri), very obvious Jacquemus and the one-time-only Gucci show in the French capital, which from the three felt the most exciting. The last part of Alessandro Michele’s French trilogy (we had the 1968 student protest inspired advertising campaign and the memorable, ‘on fire’ resort 2019 collection in Arles) ended up in Le Palace, the historically famous club that used to be the Mecca for such night-goers like Yves Saint Laurent, Bianca Jagger or Karl Lagerfeld. Through the film that was played in the beginning of the show, we learned that the experimental theatre of Leo de Berardinis and Perla Peragallo served as a reference for Michele’s spring-summer 2019 creations. The clothes couldn’t be more theatrically dramatic, in the designer’s signature, eclectic sense. The models seemed to have played historical dress-up in an old, costume treasure chest just before the show. The overall style was quintessentially Alessandro: vintage-y, opulent, at points simply kitsch. Even though the designer champions gender fluidity in his collections, which is wonderful especially at such a globally renowned brand like Gucci, I honestly think that his latest line-up dug too deep in the past. Additional nostalgia was brought by Jane Birkin, who in the middle of the show stood up from her front row seat and started to sing the melancholic Baby Alone in Babylone. Don’t get me wrong. The spectacle (it can be hardly called a ‘fashion show’) was a masterpiece. But the fashion part, even if tried hard to remind of Parisian clubbing chic, was monotonously Michele who we see every single season. Aesthetically I absolutely can’t relate to this collection. How about the true Gucci customer? I guess anything goes.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

When in Alyscamps. Gucci Resort 2019

June 7, 2018June 7, 2018 | Design & Culture by Ed

It was Gucci and the ancient necropolis of Alyscamps, a stone throw from the French city of Arles, that followed the Louis Vuitton cruise show in the Cote d’Azur. The lightness and sun-drenched mood of French Riviera got erased by a massive dose of historical weight and a sense of mysticism that Alessandro Michele adores to implement into his clothes, and the Italian brand. It’s not a surprise that the collection was heavy in details and focused on a beautiful chaos, typical for the escapist universe of the creative director. The line-up was like a moving closet for women and men, or rather for anyone who feels free to wear the clothes. That’s Alessandro’s way of pushing Gucci into no-gender-boundaries label. So there it all was on that, literally, ‘on fire’ runway: a gown with a skeleton thorax embroidered on the bodice (disturbingly magnificent), bridal dresses embellished with Christian crosses, leggings with memento mori written all over, richly embroidered toga dresses, punk-ish boots, opulent robes, jaw-dropping faux fur coats and lots of flowers (that replaced real accessories). I no longer look at Michele’s collection in terms of clothes only. That just doesn’t make sense. His creations are like a theatre, where everything matters: the styling, the models, the setting, the music.