How the house of Gucci suddenly became fashionable
Olesya Iva
In the history of Gucci - a new chapter: In January 2015, a new creative director, Alessandro Michele, came to the Italian commercially charged brand (home incomes greater than Prada, Cartier and Hermès). Now he has presented his first Gucci campaign, the Pre-Fall 2015 collection, and judging by it, dramatic changes are taking place in the house.
The new ad campaign has no hint of Gucci's glamorous past. Here, natural light, models in casual poses do not look directly into the camera, there is no staging, photos are unevenly cropped and look more like screenshots from the film or fashionable photography, which could easily appear in Pop and AnOther magazines. The campaign brings Gucci to real life and alienates commercial gloss.
The campaign was made by the minimalist Glen Lachford, whose works were exhibited at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and MoMA in New York, who previously collaborated with The Face and Arena, i-D, Vogue, Prada and Calvin Klein. Stylist shooting is also not the last person in the fashion industry - Joe McKenna, The editor of The New York Times' T Magazine, known for his work in the 90s for Calvin Klein and shooting for i-D and Dazed & Confused magazines.
Judging by the campaign, the new creative director has broken with the vulgar past of the house of Gucci. At the same time, Michele retained the sensuality and sexuality characteristic of the Gucci style, adding to them romanticism and intellectuality. Exactly the same changes in the two debut collections of Alessandro - male and female. Here we saw gender ambivalent things, thoughtful styling, inspired by Italian vintage flea markets. In the debut shows of Michele, models of both sexes participated in androgynous dresses: it was difficult to distinguish who was who. Men and girls wore identical transparent blouses with bows, wide trousers and lace tops, men's coats.
Speaking about the first collections of Alessandro, it is noticeable how he brought gender-neutral fashion into a commercial plane, which, by the way, is in keeping with the spirit of the times. Making a bet on styling images, Michele walked Edward Slimane’s beaten track at Saint Laurent. So, the classic for the house Gucci silk dress with a floral pattern, he revived with strange fur shoes and loafers in the men's style; sexy transparent tops - strict midi skirts, "grandmother's" fur coats, berets and glasses. All these techniques are easy to repeat, not only in the magazine shootings, but also in life, which means that the updated Gucci style will become recognizable outside of fashion weeks.
Behind Alessandro Michele is the legacy of Tom Ford and Frida Giannini. Tom Ford led the house from 1994 to 2004, exploiting the topic of sex, which became a key element of Gucci DNA. With the advent of Tom Ford, deep cleavage, bold necklines, transparent and shiny fabrics, fur, lace and crystals appeared in the collections of the house. Scandalous advertising campaigns were filmed by Luis Sanchis and Terry Ridcharson, but most often - Mario Testino. Campaigns show how the degree of sexuality has only increased with each passing year. In a special way, two works by Mario Testino 2003 are highlighted here: one with the participation of children, the second with a shaved pubis. From 2004 to 2006, Alessandra Facchinetti managed the Gucci house. She did not deviate from the formula derived by Ford, and for too literal understanding of the heritage of her house, she was soon rather removed from the work.
In 2006, Frida Giannini became the new creative director of Gucci, who by the time she was 70, was glamor. It was she who was now replaced by Michele, who, like Frida, before his appointment headed the accessories department of Gucci. Under the leadership of Frida Giannini in the mid-2000s, the Gucci collections become more feminine and bohemian. The sparkles are replaced by floral prints inspired by the famous Gucci Flora pattern, but body-shaping silhouettes, necklines and cutouts remain. I must say that with the glamor Frieda is very overwhelmed. Her advertising campaigns, full of unnatural postures, photoshop, as well as strong make-up and excessive styling, were the epitome of the gloss of the past, from which Gucci Group and decided to get rid of in 2015 year.
Gucci has always broadcast sexuality in fashion. By advertising campaigns and collections of Italians, you can track how the perception of sexuality in popular culture has changed over the past 20-30 years. Obviously, the glossy presentation of Frida Giannini, with her excessive sexuality, inherited from Tom Ford, was far from modern times. Gucci needed a fresh look - and it was perfectly demonstrated by Alessandro Michele.
Judging by the first campaign of Michele, the new sexuality is naturalness, simplicity of clothes and beautiful shoes. Pro shoes, of course, a joke. It's just that Michele, with his past accessory genius, is well aware of the context in which to put the most popular product - Gucci bags and shoes. So, a vintage sofa and a faded oriental rug made it possible to focus on things. Another interesting point: the work of Michele is an advertising campaign of the latest collection of Frida Giannini. The new creative director masterfully repacked the past of Gucci's house into a modern envelope, and I really want him to not stop at this.