That it was not Gucci. Logo bags came hand-painted with flowers or embroidered with big insects a theme dear to Michele, who continued to explore it over the seasons. My mom said, No! And my aunt said, Go ahead! Even now, I want to do the same thing: wear socks with sandals. We were coming from 15 years of pushing iconic bags and the bourgeois look, but outside the world had changed. Sign up for WWD news straight to your inbox every day. The decline in fact resulted from a myriad of complex factors, the pandemic being one, however the Business of Fashion explored the possibilities, reporting that 'the biggest challenge could be evolving the brands market positioning and aesthetic', and that luxury consumers were shifting towards investment items rather than the novelty items Michele's Gucci is perhaps best known for. 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He gave me freedom and I did not always feel free before then. Lyst named them the most in-demand brand at the end of 2020. 77 of 13/5/2022, Fashion wants to be different but is not willing to change, Vetements' oversized looks prove that memes are no longer enough. When I was 6 years old, I wanted open clogslike the shoes you wear on the beach in the summer, but I wanted them in the winter! Alessandro Michele: I have a lot of picture of crazy people in the street, you know, that I go crazy. I love my job and I just followed my instinct, living the beauty of the moment. Refresh page. The fundamental transition from old to new fashion lies here enclosed in a label that is the most essential symbol of a shift that, more than concerning designers, concerns the culture that surrounds fashion. With his arrival, the focus shifted from archival iconography to pure fashion. Aside from the campaign, Gucci also reveals the e-com editorial highlighting its SS23 collection. I mean, he's wearing something that I never saw in any single thing-- in-- in any shop in-- in Gucci. Sharyn Alfonsi: So when you see a tourist walking around with something awful on, you're like, "Yes.". Alessandro Michele Revisits Fashion's Golden Years for Gucci's Fall Winter Campaign. Then in December, they embarked on GucciFest, a mini-series of films which continued Gucci's mission to turn the fashion show on its head. It's like spectacular. But once the surprising becomes commonplacenearly every designers collection is gender-fluid these daysit becomes necessary to innovate further. Take its loafers, for example. Dakota Johnson starring in Guccis latest campaign. Worldwide views reached over 35 million, making it the brands most-watched digital event ever. It's not forever. The Gucci Flora motif, originally created for Grace Kelly in 1966, dominated the womenswear show which followed a month after the mens. Marco [Bizzarri] wanted to leave a sign and we redid the collection from scratch. 2023 Hypebeast Limited. I swim in this sea that is mine, watching with my own eyes, so that you can tell that [my designs] are seen through my eyes. Marco Bizzarri: So I met him in his apartment. You have to love things that are not so young! he said. We charge advertisers instead of our readers. Jared Leto: You know, yeah, it's-- it's a very heavy head for an actor. With the Spring/Summer 2017 collection in Milan today, we take a look back . He took a gamble with me, but like a coach with his team, he risked everything. It's-- it's mysterious. Get all the top news stories and alerts straight to your inbox. To do the wrong things in the right way is complicated, he said. A.M.: I was thinking of codes that belonged to the brand and that could fit with my vision, I did it instinctively. That's the most beautiful thing, that nothing's forever. Giannini, like Michele, had started by designing Gucci accessories and bags a type of heritage that was brought to light during his tenure. There was all these antiques and beautiful colors. You may have to select a menu option or click a button. Still, he seemed apprehensive about the frenetic pace of technology today. Its been an incredible journey, I feel fulfilled, and, when I look back, I wonder at some of the things I did. Is this a topical moment for you? Let people be free.. Unveiled in a film directed by Michele and the multi-disciplinary artist Floria Sigismondi, 94 models took to a runway lined with cameras, each flash emulating the glamour of nineties and early noughties runway paparazzi. NEW MODEL ARMY A sampling of Micheles collections from the past five years.Alessandro Michele Collage: Photographed by Venturelli/Getty Images for Gucci; Photographed by Ernesto S. Ruscio/Getty Images for Netflix; Photographed by Daniele Venturelli/Getty Images for Gucci and Maxxi; All other images Courtesy of Gucci. Alessandro Michele transformed Gucci with his inimitable passion for nostalgia, irreverence, and opulence. Yeah, maybe no. Sharyn Alfonsi: What's the Italian word for hoarder or pack rat? He grew up in Rome, and was first inspired by his aunt Giulianahis mothers twinwho worked, as his mother did, in the film business. This job follows me always. Jewelry is oversized and fixated on GG motifs, linking back to the hardware on must-haves like the new quilted handbag, it too featuring GG emblems on the fastener. Michele isn't afraid to mess with the system. Rings adorned fingers and crystal hearts were clutched in hands, a symbol which has danced throughout the mystical iconography Michele has built for the brand over the years. Take a look at the Gucci SS23 campaign and other garment highlights above, and shop the collection online and in Guccis boutiques worldwide now, with more items expected to arrive imminently. From Coat by William . I have a lot of energy, and I feel like a gymnast. I was loyal, we had a very good relationship and I was delivering what I was asked to do, but there was no sharing. And it-- you open the door. With Aria, Michele re-birthed the Gucci legacy, honouring and dishonouring it where he saw appropriate, playing closer attention to it than ever before. The right scent can enhance a room to new levels. Yeah, it's pretty heavy. The Battle of Versailles Fashion Show, 1973, Sign up for WWD news straight to your inbox every day. They were saying, Oh my god, Alessandro is crazy! In his days as a designer at Fendi and Gucci, Michele used to sketch so much that he says he now has pains in his back and neck from crouching over and drawing. Alessandro Michele: I think that fashion is to let the people hear your voice in a way you know. Michele was a Tom Ford hire and worked under Frida Giannini. The pictures are of androgynous models in Gucci clothes interacting with fully nude geriatric men and women who are painted chalk white; shot in the gallery of an 18th-century Roman villa, they convey an overwhelming sense of mortality. To us he seemed as much a puzzle master as a designer. And for Gucci, they do, big-time. In fact, Eilish may be the perfect incarnation of Micheles sense of the brand: a self-proclaimed misfit who sings about alienation, yet engages millions of fans. Sharyn Alfonsi: But doesn't everybody have to afford it? Marco Bizzarri: Yeah, I think so. While many questions remain unanswered, they are contributing to the palpable curiosity surrounding the brands mens show scheduled for Friday at 2 p.m. here, when the post-Michele era will officially kick off at the company. Pask didnt point to specific product categories but still urged the need to preserve the element of unpredictability. Continuity, disruption and everything in between: before the post-Alessandro Michele era officially kicks off on Friday at Gucci, everybody is placing bets. 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You have not dramatically veered your aesthetic over the years. Alessandro Michele: You feel it. Pride 2023: Standout Moments, Celebrities and Photos of Parades Around theWorld, They Are Wearing: Paris Mens Spring2024. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google, EXCLUSIVE: Paco Rabanne Is Revving Up With Makeup, MoreBoutiques, The Dangerous Art of ArtificialIntelligence, What Brands Need to Know About GenerativeAI, Brunello Cucinelli Presents Latest RestorationProject, Casa Valextra Concept Introduced inKyoto. Produced by Guy Campanile. (LAUGH) And then if you were really happy you said, "Stupendo." Like the shoe with the fur. In everything, I want to show that journey from conformity to creativity., When he was 23, Michele applied to work at Versace, which was, in the 80s and early 90s, the red-hot center of Italian fabulousness. Ford's designs were minimalist and sophisticated on the one hand and incredibly sexy on the other. After all, the demand of initiating a strong design shift aimed at further elevating the brands luxury positioning is what allegedly sparked the fracture between Michele and Guccis and its parent Kerings top management, led by Marco Bizzarri and Francois-Henri Pinault, respectively. It was worn by both women (on whom you might expect the frivolity of a fur-lined mule) and men (on whom you might not) at Guccis fall 2015 show, in Milan. The director Harmony Korine, who also did a limited-edition book for Gucci, had directed a mini movie using the camera-glasses; it would premiere at the event. The upcoming runway event will come exactly eight years after the legendary mens fall 2015 show that shifted fashion aesthetics and shaped the industry for the years to come, putting Michele and Gucci at the epicenter of not only a fashion conversation but a cultural one, too. He has marked an era, revolutionizing the brand. Gucci says almost all of their products are still made in Italy. Before her, for over ten years, it was up to Tom Ford to lead the brand which on his arrival already had practically one foot in it grave. He shrugged. Nov. 23, 2022 In the largest creative shake-up of a fashion brand since the Covid-19 pandemic, Gucci announced on Wednesday that Alessandro Michele, its creative director, was leaving the. I had been thinking of leaving for the previous two years; I was tired and flattened because I like the sense of freedom in my work. WWD: What happened once you were confirmed creative director? Alessandro Michele Leaves Gucci After Seven-Plus Blockbuster Years | GQ The designer supercharged the Italian brand with a heavy dose of whimsy, plenty of vintage styling, and help from. You may have more than one ad-blocker installed. On Thursday 15 April 2021, Gucci celebrated with their new Aria collection, and the show notes promised a 're-birth'. Broadcast associate, Elizabeth Germino. I dont want there to be a conventional beginning or an end. 'The "Gucci Effect" is well and truly in full swing, reported Grazia in 2017. It's-- it's something that look fabulous, you know? Michele's promotion from head of accessories to creative director ushered in a new era of androgynous Italian maximalism for the house, infiltrating the fashion industry from high end to high street. A type of aesthetic perfectly represented by gucci's famous (and scandalous) campaigns of the time, in which models and models were dressed, yes, but always seemed to be on the verge of undressing. After Michele, there was an immediate double-digit growth in sales, and Gucci continues to be a juggernaut. With each pair twisting archetypal silhouettes. I spoke with Marco about this. We as buyers and merchants are always looking for collections that surprise and excite us, and that present a point of view that is singular, inventive, and that will make life extraordinary for our luxury customers, he noted. While every established name from Maria Grazia Chiuri to Daniel Roseberry has been thrown about as a possible candidate for the job, in-house candidates so far include Remo Macco, a Gucci veteran who was recently appointed studio design director; Davide Renne, also a longtime Gucci designer, and Marco Maria Lombardi, a member of Guccis design studio, as reported. I redid the stores, pored over every small detail. The extreme sophistication promoted by Giannini began to seem obsolescent, just as his continuous recourse to the brand's archive had caused his collections to lose bite a figure that resulted in a drop in sales starting in 2013. Gucci had been reflecting the jet-set, a social class that was totally dead, symbols of an era that was closing. WWD: When did you realize you were leaving a mark in fashion? Nobody knew what to make of what Michele whipped up for his first show in less than a week. The Italian fashion house has vowed to be more environmentally conscious after signing the Fashion Pact. Micheles designs were everywhere, and yet everyone in the room looked individual, as if they had picked out an outfit that best revealed their personality. Alessandro Michele: When I finished everything and the show was gone. Alessandro Michele: In-- yeah, for a minute. Jared Leto: I mean, I haven't seen it since that night basically. As did his sex sells attitude, now seen in 2021 through the lens of fetish via Gucci's equestrian history. As we look towards a post-pandemic world, talk of the Roaring Twenties: Round Two, and partying till dawn has been on fashion's mind. There was no contract and I had not really sensed what projects Marco or [Kering chief] Franois-Henri Pinault had for the brand or for me. Beautiful texture. Is it androgeny chic or crusader couture? Marco Bizzarri to set a 10 billion euro revenue target for the brand in June that year. (LAUGH), Sharyn Alfonsi: Do you just bring it out to dinner parties or--. I may have made some adjustments, but I built what Ive done on his foundation.. Gucci sales tripled in five years. Dropping a Campus ADV, Terrex Swift R2 GTX, and accompanying tech apparel. The horsebit runs throughout the Aria collection, on bags and harnesses, together with the chicest riding hats that needn't go cross country to feel viable. (LAUGH), Alessandro Michele: I love to feel insecure in a way. From heel to throat". I imagine the design team is already moving away from [Micheles] maximalism and shifting to a more sleek, sexy look, while still keeping some sort of continuity with respect to Alessandros tenure, waiting for a more visible change of direction when the new creative director will be announced., Sam Lobban, executive vice president, general merchandising manager of apparel and designer at Nordstrom, left all doors open while stressing that our customers gravitate toward Guccis take on Italian luxury and while we dont know whats next for the brand given this time of change, were excited to see whats to come.. Michele swapped out Gucci's signature sophistication for something he calls "beautiful strangeness" and tripled sales in the process. A colorful space in the heart of Milans Porta Venezia. Guccio Gucci started the company in the 1920's making high-end luggage. Alessandro Michele: Now when you think to Gucci, you think that you can look beautiful in different ways, you know? Micheles gender-fluid and romantic spirit would go on to influence a slew of other designers, and fast-fashion giants jumped on the bandwagon quicker than you could say Jack Robinson. In the seven years since he took the job - he's blown the doors off the legendary fashion house. Elsewhere, here are eight more drops you dont want to miss this week. It was a life experience, whatever happened. But flickers of Michele's penchant for all that glitters and gold, remained, striking a brilliant and refreshing balance with house codes that could only be the result of a seasoned hand. When I saw the reaction to my first show and that quite a few people were disoriented, I thought they would fire me, but I always say that Marco was my Pygmalion. In just five years, Guccis Alessandro Michele has transformed the fashion landscape with his constantly evolving, ageless, gender-fluid designs. It--. Marco came to my house and said he was fascinated by how it looked. Michele, who has now outfitted the Gucci stores in the same manner as his homedeeply patterned rugs on top of other rugs; embroidered throw pillows that often feature images of his two dogs; worn velvet couches in jewel toneshas a deep love for color and decoration. "More strange", we heard him say as he narrowed his 200 looks to the 115 that made it into the Hollywood show. In those days fashion was aimed at a substantially older audience, millennials were still all in bands and Gen Z did not exist: Tom Ford's collections (as well as his campaigns) were literally "for adults", they told of a world made of minimalist architecture, bright colors and sensual languor - a world in which the exclusivity of luxury was communicated through the element of the forbidden, of erotica. I keep so many things, objects, furniture. In Depth: Alessandro Michele on Gucci Beloved Bags Created with Sketch. As the designer presents his Epilogue collection today, he reminisces about his very first show in January 2015, two days before he was appointed creative director of the brand, and about the impact it had on fashion. 2023 Fairchild Publishing, LLC. Although Guccis return to a solo mens show was a decision taken prior to Micheles departure, this is another key factor adding buzz around the event and reflecting the fashion houses focus on the category. A.M.: I feel good, these have been five wonderful years. Alessandro Michele: Bello is-- that it's working. Gucci's Latest Chime for Change Project Is All About Coming Together, Herms Spring/Summer 2024 Collection Embodies the Dream Mediterranean Summer, Lily-Rose Depp Defends 'The Idol' Sex Scenes, David Corsenswet Has Been Named the New Superman, Best New Beauty Products to Shop in June 2023, 10 New Movies & TV Shows to Watch in July 2023, 12 Best Designer Candles That Smell Like Luxury in a Jar, I hereby give my consent to the processing of my personal data for the purposes of. September 7, 2021 WHEN IN ROME Alessandro Michele, photographed in front of a tapestry in his home. The way we express that could be different but at the end this is Gucci. Alessandro Michele: --means that you put, you know, things in your-- yeah, it's-- I think that is the disease of collectors. Alessandro Michele will leave Gucci after nearly eight years as creative director, the company announced on Wednesday afternoon, after the close of Europe's business day. But it should not be thought that Frida Giannini left Gucci as she found it: it was she who exhumed the Jacqueline bag and the Flora press, she started the season of Gucci's humanitarian commitment,she brought Florence Welch into the family of the brand and created the campaigns with James Franco, Rihanna and Mark Ronson. Curating a sprawling selection of seasonal pieces. At the time, Bizzarri, who took on his role at Gucci on Jan. 1, 2015, told WWD that elevating Michele to the post of creative director was looking from outside, not the most obvious choice, but that he was exactly the right person for that position, tasked with halting Guccis then-performance declines. Since Gucci and Alessandro Michele suddenly parted ways in November, there hasnt been a single industry operator or fashion enthusiast who hasnt speculated about the causes of the divorce; imagined behind-the-scenes scenarios or weighed in with their two cents on the direction the brand will or should take next. Alessandro Michele: Relevant, yeah. Known for infusing glitz, glam, subversion, and expression back into Gucci, the prolific designer gave new life to the Italian label and the fashion industry as a whole. Marco Bizzarri: So I ask him, "Listen, if I appoint you as a creative director, are you willing to do the show, the men's show," that-- was going to happen in five days. They call me the ruler of gender fluidity, but to me, I was just pulling out beauty. And watching these artisans at work, you can almost start to make sense of the high prices that make their bags one of the most desired and counterfeited items in the world. But the thing about the head was everyone wanted to play with my head. So then I sat down and I was looking around in the apartment. Michele was standing in the middle of the dining room, near his close friend the actor and musician Jared Leto, who was talking to Giovanni Attili, Micheles longtime boyfriend. A.M.: I am a professional and worked to deliver my craft and experience. At Micheles request, Lanthimos had already done an unsettling series for him, which was turned into a limited-edition book. Including skin softening sunscreen and soothing fruit-flavored lip masks. Before Michele's first collection, the stock for Kering SA, Gucci's parent company, was struggling. Such themes frequented his work season after season, and it all culminated in the designers final collection for the House Spring/Summer 2023s Twinsburg show. Perhaps this was a way of assuaging anxieties about something Michele had told me earlier. Finn McTaggart is joined by Tino Kamal, James Brackenbury, Zeinab Batchelor, Hannah Hall and Michael Hope to discuss the Gucci S/S 20 show. But maybe more relevant. EXCLUSIVE: Louis Vuitton Signs Tennis Player Carlos Alcaraz as BrandAmbassador. Photographed by Tierney Gearon, Vogue, May 2019. Womens is a much bigger business for most of the luxury players and sometimes when theres a coed show, the mens element disappears. Photographs by GIOVANNI ATTILI. I do the same for Gucci. WWD: Five years later, how do you remember that first bow on the runway? Also sharing a music video for Yesterday co-starring You Mi Lee of Squid Game.. Nudes and half-naked people abounded in her campaigns, references to fetishes and group sex make perbenists blush even twenty years later and there was one, it is not known if famous or infamous, in which a model's pubic hair was cut in the shape of a "G". Sharyn Alfonsi: You said after that first show you were worried they were (LAUGH) gonna fire you. Alessandro Michele is no Gucci freshman. I love the way she looks, Michele said about Eilish, who was in a Gucci tunic and board shorts, as she shyly said hello and sat down. Alessandro Michele: I always take a picture. It's like a voice that is saying "if you are like this, you are good. The more you are a hybridyoung but old; male but female; female but malethe more you look interesting. His vision was statement dressing, but of a very particular sort, in which gender and age were not delineated. However, the branded cuff brings in Micheles elements once more, combining the past and the current in a way not too dissimilar to what Guccis FW23 collection attempted to do. For 100 years, the brand with its double G logo has been synonymous with opulence, understated luxury and over-the-top prices. Why do we let supermodels tell us how to dress? I love to question myself, I hope to maintain this energy, to risk and experiment. It's impossible to define. All Rights Reserved. When Ford arrived, the brand was in great financial difficulty and needed a creative director who could reinterpret its heritage for the world of the 1990s. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. If I made a movieand I would love to make a movieI would want it to last, Michele said. Lil Pump's Gucci Gang set off a soundtrack featuring songs which referenced the brand in their lyrics - this was about Gucci's cultural cachet. And yet, Michele made it clear that he had in fact set out to betray the legacy of the house. The new global campaign is spreading awareness in the forms of a short film and zine. And youre putting it on a man and a woman! An exquisitely-tailored suit jacket in black is cropped but still double-breasted in classic ways, revealing a G-string la Tom Ford-era Gucci. Gizmo from Gremlins takes center stage on a collegiate-esque sweater, donning a cream and red color palette before bearing the fuzzy character alongside equally fuzzy, glittery film branding. I was free to be creative, I was not there to secure a job. Get all the top news stories and alerts straight to your inbox. Alessandro Michele, the eccentric creative director of the House of Gucci sat atop the world of high fashion in Rome. I've worn-- like, a counterfeit Gucci shirt. December 5, 2021 / 7:43 PM / CBS News. If the Gucci ad campaign released this week that portrays Dakota Johnson with various renditions of the brands Jackie 1961 bag is any indication, Micheles fantasy world has expanded to a more grounded one, his rich allegories and references switched for an image that is more immediate and easier to read. Alessandro Michele: I love to be open to the things that-- make me feel like, "Oh, my gosh. Recorded on video, a special episode of the Gucci Podcast features Creative Director Alessandro Michele on a journey through the history and inspiration of the Gucci Beloved bags including the new Bamboo 1947 line.
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