May 17, 2023 |
The ceremonial courtyard of Seoul’s Gyeongbokgung Palace proved a fitting backdrop for Gucci’s latest Cruise collection, which collided distinct house codes with youth-centric styles that populate city’s streets.
It was the first time a fashion show has been staged in the 14th-century South Korean heritage site, which once served as the main palace of the Josean dynasty. The collection was designed by Gucci’s atelier sans a creative director – the house’s incoming designer, Sabato de Sarno, just started on the job last week, and will debut his first collection this September.
A twinkling lake of lights and a thumping soundtrack scored by revered composer Jung Jae-il of Squid Game and Parasite fame set the tone. A welding of future-facing stylings with a taste for tradition, out came boxy suits, swollen cargo trousers and track tops frosted with sequins – worn with rounded trainers and cybergoth boots. The team had been looking to Seoul’s Gen-Z eclectic style for inspiration, particularly the windsurfers who occupy the Han River (fittingly, models carried Gucci branded surfboards and skateboards that came equipped with laptop-sized pouches). Neoprene wet suits were worn beneath prim-and-proper suit jackets and sugary pink chiffon frocks that twirled like jellyfish – also reminiscent of Haenyeo South Korean female divers. Maxi skirts and sculpted, scuba frocks borrowed their shape from Korean hanboks, while shiny, sensual togs and the revival of a Gucci Horsebit bag from the Noughties (also seen on the Gucci AW23 catwalk) continued to lean into Tom Ford’s seminal reign of the house.
The night was serenaded by A$AP Rocky and Jay Park, who performed to a buzzy crowd including the likes of Dakota Johnson and Jodie Turner Smith. As monumental fashion shows go, Gucci’s trip to Seoul shaped up to be pretty spectacular.
Photography courtesy of Gucci.
