There would be no new designer swooping in at Gucci today. It was 10 years ago last month that Alessandro Michele stepped in after his predecessor’s departure and in a matter of five days prepped a new collection all the way down to model casting, rewriting Gucci’s next chapter in the process. Since Sabato De Sarno’s sudden exit earlier this month after a short tenure, local speculation had it that maybe, just maybe, we’d get a designer surprise, and a vibe shift in the package.
Instead, this was an interim collection, the second in as many years, and one created by the studio team, the members of which came out for a group bow at the end of the show in matching Gucci green sweatshirts—Ancora Verde, rather than De Sarno’s Ancora Rosso. They were dozens strong, a reminder that design is the hard, collective work of large numbers of people. It’s a fact the brand made a point of highlighting: “A continuum of craft, taste, and culture that passes through time,” the press release read, “the fashion house is one that has many owners and guardians: craftspeople and artisans, creative directors and designers, communicators, and customers, each with their own histories entwined.”
And yet the promise of a singular, persuasive vision—a next big idea—is what keeps us all coming back for more. The announcement that is the first step towards that new vision still being pending, we were shown a “synthesis” of Gucci-isms today: sparkly shifts in the mod ’60s shape of the brand’s jet-set heyday, fur-less versions of Michele’s iconic loafer scuffs, the rhinestone flash of double Gs on velvet catsuits channelling Tom Ford’s ’90s glam, and De Sarno’s acid-hued silk slips, among other things. A yellow peacoat that looked normal enough from the front but had a gathered inset in the back that elevated it beyond the everyday seemed like another possible holdover from De Sarno; he had a thing for special outerwear.
The era hopping aside, the lingering impression was of a kooky bourgeoise, who goes out in in a faux fur and pencil skirt but neglects to put on a blouse over her lacy camisole, who ties a kerchief over a baseball cap, or matches her leather shorty gloves to her handbag. That was the women’s side, at least. The men’s, which was shown in tandem, was more narrowly focused on tailoring, with double-breasted suits accompanied by matching shirts and ties and single-breasted ones worn with tissue-thin turtlenecks, along with carcoats in vinyl, patinated animal print, or tweed. There were no big risks or statements.
What’s next for Gucci? As the show notes pointed out, the house patrimony is extensive. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the Horsebit bag, and horsebits appeared in many different guises both large and small here. Brand codes are elemental and necessary, of course, but only the human touch and human creativity can give a show the elusive spark we’re all searching for so hopefully.
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