Words: Jesse Scott
It is a new era at Gucci, and Demna Gvasalia wasted no time in getting it off to a dramatic start. The Georgian designer, having just closed out a revolutionary ten-year tenure at Balenciaga, dropped the most-anticipated collection of Milan Fashion Week a day before the official calendar even started. For both long-time Gucci loyalists and fervent Demna supporters who had followed their beloved designer over to the Italian house, it was a triumphant moment - and just a preview of a sophisticated vision that should unfold over the next few seasons.
Expecting the Unexpected
If the ever-subversive Demna has taught us one thing in recent years, it is to expect the unexpected. He delivered on that expectation with his Gucci debut, eschewing both an elaborate runway show and a typical presentation to instead launch a surprise lookbook and a collection that is available almost immediately (from September 25 to October 12 in stores including Beverly Hills Rodeo Drive, Wooster New York, Milan Montenapoleone and Paris Avenue Montaigne). And while the format was surprising, Demna was being subversive by NOT being subversive; rather than seize the spotlight individually as he puts his stamp on the house, Demna drew attention to Gucci’s rich history and opened a nuanced dialogue examining “what is the Gucciness of Gucci?” This was Demna in all his glamorous, entertaining, and tongue-in-cheek glory, but it was also Demna as interpreter and caretaker, illustrating his deep respect for Gucci tradition and seeking to distill the original essence of the brand for a new social media generation.
La Famiglia Through the Ages
The collection was cleverly titled La Famiglia, perhaps a nod to the legendary history of the Gucci family but also a means of personifying the archetypes that wear the brand today. Demna presented not simply looks but an entire universe, introducing supporters to carefully considered but playful personas that will bring his vision to life whether on the wide boulevards of Beverly Hills, the cobblestone streets of Gucci’s hometown of Firenze, or the pristine beaches of Portofino. Fittingly, his visual narrative, like the Gucci one some 104 years ago, began with a trunk. It was shortly followed by the cheekily named “Incazzatta” (a saucy Italian expression of exasperation), an aristocratic-looking woman in a deadly red coat paired with statement sunglasses, fierce leather gloves, a headscarf, and buttons with the signature “Double G” motif. The look combined several accessories for which Gucci has become famous, doubtless re-assuring for many clients, and, proving that sophistication can be best achieved by simplification, streamlined, and clarified one of the house’s signature aesthetics. It proved that Demna has indeed distilled the “Gucciness of Gucci,” removing the extraneous and returning to foundational base layers that gave the brand its fame. This was also demonstrated by looks like the Sciura (a gloriously retro broad-shouldered fur-collared blue jacket) (Look 12) and La V.I.C. (a “very important client” dressed head-to-toe in monogram from her elegant coat to her heels) (Look 16).
There was something in this collection for everyone. But it was all gloriously and quintessential Gucci. While the aesthetics were varied, the vision was clear; every Gucci archetype is the main character in their own life, and likely in many other lives who their forceful personalities cross paths with. La Bomba, a dramatic tiger print fur coat worn with seemingly nothing else, and La Bomba No 2, a broad-shouldered white fur number which was a personal favorite, recalled the glorious heyday of 1990’s supermodels (Tom Ford’s Gucci, anyone?) (Looks 22, 24). Meanwhile, the Party boy, wearing a simple monochrome look completed again by statement shades, and L’Androgino, embodying an elevated techno club cool in a transparent top and silver choker, spoke to the effortless swagger and all-black aesthetic beloved at Demna’s Balenciaga (Looks 21, 23). Unbridled sexuality and playful innocence danced together in harmonious contrast. For example, the “Ragazzo,” a man wearing only a thong, appeared in the lookbook next to La Principessa, fully covered in an elegantly draped pink dress (Looks 30, 31). Meanwhile, bold characters like La Snob, a Cruella de Vil-esque villain who seemed to have leapt straight out of the pages of a fairy tale, and La Diva, ensconced in voluminous blue fur, seemed to signal a sort of unadulterated joy and enthusiasm with which this collection was designed (Looks 32, 34). Demna, it seems, is as excited about writing Gucci’s next chapter as we are about reading it.