The Gucci revolution
It was a random day back in 2003 when I was a puerile college freshman reading this very newspaper (at which, in a twist of inevitable fate, I ended up working years later) and I chanced upon a spread of Gucci opening its first store in Manila. It caught my attention after seeing photos of PMAP models wearing Tom Ford’s fall ‘03 collection for the 95-year-old Italian house. Everything was foreign to me back then, but seeing the clothes of the trademark Gucci girl that Ford created- — the embodiment of sexual confidence, sleek, sensual and provocatively edgy — took my breath away. It was the kind of fashion nirvana I felt that made me dream of working in this industry. I will forever remember that day: the day I started my love affair with Gucci.
Fast-forward to more than a decade later with two successors having succeeded the position of creative director, post-Tom Ford; the Italian house needed to breathe new life into its identity. It was fitting when the newly-appointed CEO Marco Bizzari started to look for a replacement for Frida Giannini, an unknown talent and Gucci employee of 13 years who rose up through the creative ranks; his name was Alessandro Michele, the then dark horse who is now leading the renaissance moment at Gucci.
Alessandro’s first collection, which he created in just five days (yep, you read that right), broke the Internet. The new brand of Gucci’s geek-chic-meets-magpie aesthetic put the brand on every front page, digital or otherwise. It sent out a shockwave worldwide, announcing Alessandro’s new vision for the brand. Going in a direction opposite from his predecessors made him the most widely applauded and talked-about person in fashion. Gone are the days of the high-gloss Gucci glamazon; the designer has given birth to the new Gucci woman in all her quirky, romantic glory.
There are big plans for the brand’s total reinvention — from renovating the once black and gold-gilded interiors of the stores worldwide to removing the partition between men’s and women’s collections on the racks, making Gucci the first truly unisex luxury brand.
One of those plans included an art exhibition in Shanghai, staged a couple of weeks back. I was lucky enough to have been invited to cover the event together with press from around the region. You may call it an in-between show, a fashion week season break for the busy Michele — he curated the exhibition together with Love magazine editor in chief and stylist Katie Grand. The show, aptly called “No Longer/Not Yet,” posed the question, “What is contemporary now?” It’s a question that the designer uses to fuel inspiration for his collections. Michele and Grand commissioned nine artists to explore the same ideas.
Housed in Shanghai’s Minsheng Art Museum, the exhibition is made up of a series of rooms featuring the works of artists such as Chinese multimedia artist Cao Fei, American sculptor Rachel Feinstein, American neo-conceptual artist Jenny Holzer, British photographer Glen Luchford (who shot the three latest Gucci campaigns under Alessandro), sound designers Steve Mackey and John Gosling (who have soundtracked each installation), British photographer Nigel Shafran, Chinese Op artist Li Shurui and British illustrator and artist Unskilled Worker.
Entering the museum is like bridging the gap to an alternate universe that Alessandro has created. Each room presents installations, drawings, pictures and artwork that explore the new contemporary vision of Gucci. A personal favorite of mine is the Gucci Tian (tian means “heaven”) room, created by Alessandro Michele himself. The walls are covered in floral motifs inspired by 18th century tapestry. In the middle of the room is a hidden enclosed box covered in herbarium floral print (this print is seen in the wallpaper of Gucci popup stores worldwide and the Dionysus bag) and inside it is a replica of Alessandro’s favorite artwork that hangs in his own bedroom. The artwork “The Boy in Red,” a painting of unknown origin, is a portrait of a young man dressed in women’s clothes — a recurring theme in the designer’s gender-breaking designs.
At the end of our tour, we were escorted to a room and the elusive creative director himself entered right after us. Meeting Alessandro took my breath away — his long dark hair and his full-on beard was a vision to behold. He is, after all, the new Pied Piper of fashion. I sat at the front row as the designer spoke about the exhibit and his new post at the Italian house, then answered a few questions from the house. His presence was serene, composed, very Zen-like.
I was very intent on listening to Michele talk about his plans to clean the slate at Gucci — the very first Gucci that made me fall in love with fashion. But what the designer is doing now is not just sweeping the brand’s aesthetic under the rug; it’s more about delivering a renewed vision — redecorating it with a breath of fresh air that feels inspired, celebrated and unexpected. The fashion industry needs this jolt of newness; it’s something I personally haven’t seen in a very long time.
As his short talk ended, I couldn’t help but keep my eyes glued to him. Alessandro Michele made me fall in love with the brand again. It may never be the same love twice, but this definitely feels like the beginning of my newfound Gucci romance.
