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100 years of Gucci – only the best fashion labels last that long. But what actually makes the Italian luxury brand so successful? Who is the creative mind that comes up with the iconic dresses, It-bags and eyewear? And what are the key pieces in the brand new Gucci Aria collection? Read on for a tale of desire, retro vibes and passionate hearts.
The Boss of the Gucci Gang
It’s quite nice for a fashion designer not to have to think long and hard about the choice of music for a fashion show, but to simply pick a song that repeatedly praises the designs of the brand in a continuous loop. Gucci‘s head designer, Alessandro Michele, courageously chose the hit song “Gucci Gang” by US rapper Lil Pump to start the visually stunning presentation of the Gucci Aria Collection.
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In fact, Michele was spoilt for choice, because Gucci appears in countless rap tracks and is the most mentioned brand in the hip-hop genre, which is quite brand-fixated anyway. This has to do with the omnipresent bling-bling of the Italian glamour brand, but of course also with its high prices, which only successful rappers can afford. So, Michele decided on Lil Pump – and he also chose the other ingredients for the anniversary show “100 years of Gucci” carefully. The master of re-contextualisation referenced previous designs, rededicated, rearranged and created a Gucci world that was more than worthy of its history. Yes, one that, for all its retrospection, showed above all where the journey will go in the future. Steeply upwards, of course.
The Glamorous Vision of Guccio Gucci
Guccio Gucci‘s world was not very glamorous at first. Working as a lift boy at the Savoy Hotel in London, the Italian lugged the suitcases of high society from the posh cars to the suites. In the process, he learned a lot about the tastes (and suitcase preferences) of the upper class and decided to open a leather goods shop in his hometown of Florence. From 1921, he sold imported suitcases and bags there – and had his own luxurious leather goods made in the workshop next door. The Gucci handbags, soon printed with the legendary Gucci pattern, quickly became must-haves among the rich and beautiful. After Guccio Gucci’s death in 1953, his son Aldo took over the management of Gucci, which soon became known worldwide with stores in New York, Paris and Los Angeles. Finally, in the 1950s and 60s, Hollywood stars such as Grace Kelly and Liz Taylor made the brand the absolute number one on everyone’s shopping wish list.
The Deep Crash
But as is so often the case in life, a too-high flight is followed by a deep fall – in the 1980s, the Gucci heirs in Italy quarrelled over the way the company should be run, share packages were sold off, Aldo Gucci had to go to prison for tax evasion. The scandal finally culminated in the murder of Gucci’s grandson Maurizio Gucci by a hitman – hired by Maurizio’s ex-wife Patrizia Reggiani. This dark chapter in the Gucci story is currently being filmed by Ridley Scott, starring Lady Gaga and Adam Driver. The film “House of Gucci” is scheduled for release in (American) cinemas at the end of November.
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Tom Ford at Gucci – A Golden Era
How do you turn a failing fashion label into something great again? That’s what designers were asking themselves after the Gucci crisis. But only one had the answer: Tom Ford. The fashion designer, who was completely unknown at the time, took over as head designer at the ailing brand in 1994 (and later also at Yves Saint Laurent) and brought it back to the top with sensual, elegant fashion for women and sleek dandy style for men. Tom Ford is also responsible for the first Gucci eyewear models. Today, the pieces from these collections are traded at top prices on resale portals.
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Since 2015, Alessandro Michele has been at the helm of Gucci’s creative team (of which he had been a member since 2002) and has once again given the brand a stylish kick in the butt. With androgynous looks, seventies references and daring colour combinations, he managed to inherit the Tom Ford era in his own special way, not stylistically, but in terms of resounding success.
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The Gucci Aria Collection – A Tribute to Diversity
A collection celebrating a milestone birthday is never complete without a look back at the past. And so Alessandro Michele also dared to look back at 100 years of Gucci, and did so several times. The red velvet suit in which a male model opens the show: a quote from Tom Ford’s famous 1996 collection. The riding helmets, crops, chokers and, of course, the ever-recurring “horse bit” buckle: a tribute to the company’s founder Guccio Gucci, who also had equestrian articles made. Even if Michele consistently transfers this equestrian theme into a fetish aesthetic that Guccio perhaps didn’t quite have in mind at the time. Feathers, lace, ankle-length, narrow skirts: reminiscences of the great Hollywood times of Marilyn Monroe. And then, of course, Balenciaga. What at first glance looks like a collaboration between an Italian and a French superbrand is in fact just a (publicity-laden) bow by Alessandro Michele to the key pieces of Georgian mastermind and Balenciaga head designer Demna Gvasalia.
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Key Pieces from the Collection
A defining element of Gucci’s 100 Year Anniversary collection, already going through the roof on social media channels, is a human heart-shaped clutch set with sparkling stones. Likewise, oversized retro glasses – both sunglasses and glasses, set to all-over Gucci pattern prints in shades of brown. Michele combines velvet suits, buckles, riding boots and vinyl coats with slim, sporty shades and nose piercings. It may sound like a big stylistic muddle, but it’s more like an amazingly well-functioning example of Michele’s approach, as he once said himself, “beauty has no boundaries, no rules, no colours.”
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