ALESSANDRO Michele has single-handedly put his mark on Gucci from clashing prints to the luxuriation of ordinary silhouettes, his overabundance and eccentricity seems far from radical in 2019, making the brand immensely popular. The sheer amount of creative ideas Michele can account for is unprecedented and his pre-fall 2019 collection is no exception to the rule.
On a mission to honour the Italian house’s heritage and simultaneously promoting and sustaining cultural heritage sites, two UNESCO world heritage sites serve as a the backdrop for his gender-bending pre-fall 2019 collection: the archeological parks of Herculaneum and Pompeii in Southern Italy.
The collection is a slight step back – in Gucci-terms – from the eccentric designs we’ve grown accustomed to from Michele, and it’s very refreshing. Building on his previous collections, looks are heavily layered, textures, colours and patterns clash in the best way possible and there is definitely no lack of adornments and embellishments, with wildlife animals appliqués scattered over trousers.
However a key difference is the emphasise on the vanishing of gender lines, as there is no more place for gender differentiation in high fashion. This fluidity translated into a collection of fresh proportions, where feminine silhouettes were fused and appropriated to those of men. Models were seen wearing knee high socks, thigh-high jean shorts and the odd skirt.
Michele exploited every shade of the colour gamut, with a preference for contrasting bolder colours with softer ones by pairing bright greens with grey and blush-coloured tones. When it comes to prints, the more the merrier, check – with a Mr Peanut cameo – was paired well with trousers sporting a tiger head pattern, and flower-prints came with an additional decorative fruit dish, Gucci’s print-extravaganza at its finest.
Definitely inspired by the tourist cameos, some looks served some serious eighties lost-tourist vibes, complete with bucket hats, kitsch logo-scattered joggings, mullets and socks in slides. 
No men’s collection is complete without a neatly tailored suit. For Gucci’s pre-fall collection, suits come in deep jewel-toned colours with a velvet finish, worn with shorts, are heavily ornamented with jewellery stacked on top of each other, and a scarf sintched around the neck finishing the look.
Michele isn’t shy of a quirky or unexpected collaboration. Proven by working with the iconic New York Dapper Dan for a capsule collection, appropriating classic paintings such as Sir John Everett Millais’s Ophelia and even turning their Instagram into a meme-feed promoting their latest timepieces. Gucci has now recruited the talented film-maker and photographer, director of Spring breakers and Rihanna’s Needed Now music video: Harmony Korine.
By viewing these ancient Roman cities with such a rich history through the lens of an American photographer, and associating them with on-trend fashion, these locations become relevant not only through history, but in contemporary culture. It attracts the attention of new generations and new audiences, yet from a different perspective, further cementing the importance of archeological parks of such caliber.
Mundane has become high fashion and there is no denying in, complete with models snacking and tourists snapping, what a treat.
by Lupe Baeyens
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.