Alessandro Michele was always going to be a tough act to follow. In just short of eight years, the long-haired, bearded maximalist united big-spending grannies, hype-hungry teens and a global legion of devoted shoppers that fall somewhere between the two in his vintage-inspired love for all things in excess. With his sudden departure from the Italian fashion giant back in November, it was difficult to imagine what Gucci – a brand that explored Michele’s cabinet of curiosities – would do without the man with the magpie eye.
Today, Gucci launched into its next chapter without a new creative director filling the bill. Instead, the brand’s atelier united to subvert the “archetypes of the classic gentleman’s wardrobe”. With its first standalone menswear show in three years (the last one was to celebrate Michele’s fifth anniversary at the helm of the house) Gucci’s team dubbed the collection a “moment of reflection, reaction and reorganisation”. In the show notes, the brand used the word ‘improvisation’ to describe its new way of working. “When the free impulses of individual minds interweave, collective expressions are conceived,” wrote the brand, a gesture translated by the show’s musical performance, which saw Marc Ribot’s Ceramic Dog build a soundtrack live onstage as the pared back show progressed.
First look out: a white tee and a pair slacks, accented with a beanie and a chocolate brown leather bag. Arrivederci lavish eveningwear and eccentric prints (the flashiest thing in the collection was a crystalised rendition of the house’s GG monogram, which frosted relaxed jeans). Instead, Gucci focused on roomy outerwear, languid suit jackets and effortlessly slick wide-legged trousers – some of which came unpicked at the seams to mimic maxiskirts.
Slouched pirate boots, semi-sheer V-neck tees and mohair knits, and of course the parade of beenies channeled a mid-noughties Camden look as the TikTok-predicted rise of ‘indie-sleaze’ infiltrates Milan. Stripped back, nonchalant and quietly sexy (not quite Tom Ford era, but you can see the direction Gucci’s team are heading), the collection felt like a palate cleanser. A clean slate is on the horizon.
Photography courtesy of Gucci.
