In a Pompeian Villa. Gucci Pre-Fall’16

December 10, 2015 | Design & Culture by Ed

The first Pre-Fall collection by Alessandro Michele dropped, and one thing is sure – the creative director of Gucci doesn’t follow the trends and continues to illustrate his vision. His woman for autumn is a aristocratic lady, who lives with her green parakeet in a renaissance Pompeian villa, filled with antique decor and impressive bisazza tiles. Artist and photographer Ari Marcopoulos captured the models wearing metallic leather pleated skirts, aloe hued plush jackets, heart embroidered Sylvie bags and beautiful pumps with red-mouth-detail straps. As usual in case of Michele’s collections for this luxurious Italian brand, every look has its own, romantic story and is ready for personal interpreatation. The hand-made patchwork on denim brought some 70s vibes, while the floor-sweeping tulle dress with hand-painted “tree of life” had me wonder about a September walk in the forest. As you see, the Gucci girl is keeping it true to her style, and that’s why Michele received his place on the list of the best designers of 2015, which you can see here!

#2015 – Alessandro Michele

December 8, 2015December 8, 2015 | Design & Culture by Ed

The year of 2015 was a strong nod to the beauty of Italian craftsmanship, and it’s all thanks to Alessandro Michele. At the beginning of the year, nobody has suspected the designer will revamp Gucci from an Euro-sleek wardrobe of Tom Ford and Frida Gianini into a poetic journey with such success. Michele’s feminine silhouettes, pussy bow shirts and Dionysus bags are the world-wide best-sellers – and I am a great fun of his romantic Gucci girl.

AW15 – Once upon a time, Alessandro Michele entered the house and everybody was like “who is this guy?” His first collection for Gucci perfectly highlighted his style. Michele gave us Wes Anderson-like aristocratic grannies, romantic poets and lots of other things that Frida Gianini has never introduced to the label. The sheer lace tops are totally opposite to the “woman of success” blazers Frida used to show off so oftenly. The entire attitude changed and even the advertisemnt campaign’s (now elusively photographed by Glen Luchford, not enhanced-filter of Mert & Alas) mood evolved into something more chilled-out, relaxed and… surprisingly, appealing.

Resort’16 – The pre-summer Gucci show was not only a surprise due to its appearance in New York. It was intriguing. The word “eclectic” came up constantly, when Michele was talking about the collection backstage. He also talked of “love” fuelling the collection, which incidentally appeared on a sweater in French –”aveugle par l’amour”. So hippie and optimistic, which is what Michele’s vibe is all about. “I’m inspired by a lot of things – from the street, antiques, vintage wardrobes. It’s impossible to explain the exact point of inspiration. It’s about being free to love, free to express, free to show who you are through the way you dress,” said Michele. “Luxury means that you show the way you dress with eccentricity. It’s almost like a new kind of jetset – instead of roaming around the world, you’re roaming with your clothes.” As you see, even the approach to luxury, which is up to now an essence of the brand, has changed.

But coming back to the venue. Gucci chose an inustrial, gallery space in New York’s Chelsea, furnished with Persian rugs. As a remix of orchestral soundtracks started up, the garage doors to the gallery were raised up and the models walked in from the street, looking flawless and so realistic. And the street is certainly where Michele sees his eclectic cast existing. No wonder why the clothes might (or even should) remind you of Williamsburg’s thrift shops and Milanese flea markets, where the clothes are all about kitschy embroidery and cheesy patterns. But in case of Alessandro Michele and his mesmerising Gucci affair, it was all about hand-made embellishments (the snakes!), gold glitter on the shoes, soft lace and imperial Astrakhan jackets.

SS16 Men – “Detournement is the art of taking some parts of the past and using them in the present with a contemporary approach and away from their original contest” is what Alessandro Michele of Gucci said before his SS16 show for men. “I love to work with the past to translate the future,” explained Michele, and although his designs are certainly rooted in Gucci’s heritage (those horse-bit loafers, the green and red equestrian stripes, bee motifs and famous GG logos) they update the house’s codes in a way that’s unrecognisable, thanks to his desire of not wanting “to stay a prisoner inside of the brand.” There are many retro references, with suede jackets and wide collars adapted from classic silhouettes of the 70s, but there is, as Michele puts it, no room for nostalgia – his focus is on youth. “They really are the future – when someone asks me what the future is? The future is now, between us, between young people,” he says. Also, the dynamic, new creative director of Gucci has a truly amazing point of view on beauty for men fashion. “My idea of masculinity is beauty,” Michele said backstage. “If you want to be beauty you can be beauty how you want; it doesn’t mean that you are not a man or woman.” This statement is strongly visible in this collection – hand-made embroideries, royal textiles, tudoresque rings and that Italian “dolce vita” attitude towards life is felt all over these clothes. As it is in Italian fashion philosophy (thank you, Miuccia Prada) to have female models in a menswear collection, the mesmerizing robes and silk scarves were jaw-dropping for both genders. And even though, many of these clothes feel like out of this era, they are all looking far into the future. It is a great pleasure to have a peek at all that artisanal beauty and reflect on it in the same, poetic way. Maybe because Michele himself is a great poet?

SS16 – Breaking down Gucci‘s recent spring-summer 2016 collection is like reinterpreting every painting in a museum. Each look is totally different. And each has its own woman and story behind it. For his first, womenswear summer season, Michele made embroidery his first privilege. Hundreds of embroidered, tiny sequins created cartoonish trompe l’oeil bows, frills and collars. One look with a bra and skirt was entirely constructed in this style – and if you are an observant person, you could notice adorable lady-bugs embellished on ties and parrots over-laying lace shirts. There is no better way to experience the craftsmanship of Alessandro’s vision as to see the newly renovated Gucci boutique on Via Montenapoleone. Here, you can touch the clothes from both autumn-winter 2015 and resort 2016 collections – each piece is absolutely different. A hand-embroidered bird on mink-coat lining; velvet flowers decorate the head-pieces; surely, “the devil is in the details”. I totally agree with that in terms of Michele’s Gucci, and Italian fashion in overall.

Moreover, the designer of Gucci tipped his toes in Italian fashion history for this season – there were references to early Missoni’s lurex zig-zags and the bold 70’s of Italy. Michele said he had been thinking about the Renaissance and the 70s specifically – both great eras for Italy in their own ways. Although this very bright collection was all about femininity (the ruffled dresses, the flower pussy-bows), it had a lot to do with punk. Biker jackets (of course, embroidered with roses), spiked killer-heels and sharp and mini-skirts were there too, during the fashion show. Gucci by Alessandro Michele is generally called “vintage” or “nostalgic“. But the designer totally disagrees with these two words. “It’s a big trip! Of course I am interested in personal style and quirkiness. There are things here that look vintage, but don’t really exist as vintage—it’s the illusion of it. I’m not nostalgic! I’d like to shake it up again.” You can love or hate the new Gucci. Spring-summer 2016 might look too bold, if you look at the collection through the thumbnails – however, one thing’s sure for both of the sides. The attention paid to the detail was missed for a long time in ready-to-wear seasons, just like the real splendour and beauty of Italian craftsmanship. And Alessandro Michele is pioneering it once again in 2015. And in 2016 as well!

#2015 – Massimo Giorgetti

December 5, 2015December 5, 2015 | Design & Culture by Ed

Italian fashion has never been so energetic as it is now! The year of 2015 is definitely the year of youth for Milan. And the most evident prove is the bold revamp at Emilio Pucci, which is directed by the extremely vibrant aesthetic of Massimo Giorgetti, the designer behind MSGM.

Resort 2016 – I won’t hide it, the Peter Dundas era wasn’t ground-breaking for me at this heritage brand. His super sleek Pucci women felt so unexciting and monotonous that there is no wonder why he left the house for Roberto Cavalli. However, tfirst collection of the new creative director, Massimo Giorgetti, has something that caught my eye. It made me look at Emilio Pucci from a totally new perspective. The designer of ultra-trendy MSGM brought an eccentric vibe into the house of kaleidoscopic prints and luxury goods – multi-colour fringe coats, florals and eye-killing colour combinations. Giorgetti’s side-buttoned blouses – a nod to the signature Pucci silk scarf – sat strangely on the body, while his one-shoulder button-downs featured elongated sleeves. Giorgetti has a sense of measure about eclecticism: his women didn’t look odd, but rather like the Clueless character which suddenly appeared in Milan.

SS16 – Massimo takes us to a utopian beach-side, where everything is possible. The sailor-girl theme was reflected in various shades of blue and the meticulously embroidered fish motifs ornamented tank-tops and dresses. Dreamy and romantic, but with a modernistic edge at the same time. The accessories, which caught my eye instantly, made the cut. The colourful, leather bucket bags made every outfit look electrifying, while the feather sandals had a playful twist. Just like the plexi sunglasses. Giorgetti is the real renaissance at Emilio Pucci, and 2016 already looks like a great year for the house!

Paris – Rome. Chanel Pre-Fall’16

December 2, 2015December 2, 2015 | Design & Culture by Ed

Staging a Chanel fashion show in Rome for Metiers d’Art collection (in other words, Pre-Fall 2016) wasn’t that clear at the first sight. However, Karl Lagerfeld had a very reasonable answer for his decision – only a few know that in the 50’s, Coco Chanel designed for the incredible, classy actresses like Jeanne Moreau, Anouk Aimée, Monica Vitti, and Romy Schneider, all of whom starred in Italian movies by Visconti and Pasolini wearing her chic tweeds and dresses. As you might know, I was recently very skeptic about Karl’s last few collections for the legendary Parisian house – the glossy, Cara Delevigne-packed model squad and Instagram-moment venues made Chanel a brand which rather looked towards media, than the clothes. However, this time, Karl showed a graceful collection, which was fully focused on the clothes. The serene, moody setting of an Italian cinema was a perfect background for the film noir lace dresses, masculine coats, leather “pasta” embroideries (this part makes me love Lessage studio even more – they made my favourite farfalle look absolutely great on a dress!) and sultry, leather pencil skirts and jackets. What caught everybody’s attention were the lace tights. They had a femme fatale atitude when worn with pointy Mary-Janes pumps. So Italian. So on point with the deliberately sexy and elusive theme of the entire collection. The hair, done by Sam McKnight, was all about messy beehives and the girls, with their smoky eyes, looked effortlessly glamorous, just like the icons of Italian cinema. Also, the model casting was just the right choice – the designer mixed the catwalk veterans, like Lara Stone and Freja Beha, with a diversity of newcomers – from Lineisy Montero, Molly Bair and Mica Arganaraz to Stella Lucia, Greta Varlese and Alexandra Elizabeth. You’re back on the good track, Karl!

Italian Hands at Gucci

October 21, 2015July 27, 2018 | Design & Culture by Ed

Alessandro Michele redefines what’s Italian chic at Gucci. His Resort 2016, which is available in the chosen flagship stores, is a balance of eclecticism and traditional craftsmanship – the topic, that was neglected for several years in the fashion industry. And even though you might not appreciate the slightly kitsch impression that the collection leaves in its overall, you should admit – in detail, these clothes are treasures. Wherever you look, there is a tiny hand-embroidered swallow or a romantic floral embellishment. Or, it’s hard not to notice that each ring is made out of different, gold-pleated elements and precious stones. The head-pieces made out of Astrakhan fur are decorated with silk flowers, that from a metre-long distance look like real peonies. The effect of Gucci’s major revamp is concentrated on the details, that give the clothes an eccentric twist, a poetical mood – and I am still trying to figure out, how such major power-house as Gucci tackled the problem of making the brand feel like a niche label, of which main aim is not only the commercial strength, but also bringing back the beauty of fashion – importance of Italian craftsmanship.