мода
alessandro michele
Leaves Gucci
Словы па: sharon edelson
Image Courtesy of Gucci
There must be nary a dry eye at Kering today. Замест гэтага, the luxury giant is contemplating its future without the help of cash cow designer and creative director, Аляксандр Міхаіл, who announced two days ago that he is leaving the fashion house. Of course, Kering will replace Michele with a bright young fashion school graduate – because in corporate America, or England, for that matter – nobody one is irreplaceable.
Like a cat, Gucci has had many lives in its 64-year history, including family feuds, take-over attempts, a near-bankruptcy filing, a public listing, storybook turnarounds, і нават забойства. Для ўсіх намераў і мэтаў, кампанія была абвешчана мёртвай, калі выканаўчы дырэктар Bergdorf Goodman Доун Мэла вырваў невядомага Тома Форда са школы дызайну Парсанса, даючы яму поўны творчы кантроль над развіццём брэнда. Астатняе - гісторыя. Перамотка наперад да 2022, і Сары Гэй Фордэн [мой былы калега па WWD і W] праніклівая кніга, "Дом Gucci" быў вызвалены, рэжысёр Рыдлі Скот. Галоўную ролю ў блокбастэры сыграла Лэдзі Гага, якая крадзе сцэну, у ролі Патрыцыі Рэджані, былая жонка-забойца заснавальніка і дызайнера Gucci Маўрыцыа Гучы.
Форд гуляе галоўную ролю ў фільме, пракладваючы шлях для асаблівага бачання брэнда Мікеле. Заснаваны Guccio Gucci, Сусветная арганізацыя па ахове здароўя, як абвяшчае легенда, ст 1897 быў карысным у вытанчаным лонданскім гатэлі Savoy Hotel, дзе яго натхнілі на стварэнне Gucci раскошныя валізкі і куфры арыстакратаў, якія спыняліся ў гатэлі. Форд асацыяваў брэнд з раскошай і арыстакратычным баўленнем часу, напрыклад, верхавая язда, which gave rise to the brand's signature horse-bit decorative hardware on handbags, luggage, jewelry, and apparel.
If Ford paved the way for Michele, the younger designer took the reins and confidently got off and running. Inspired by nature, Michele introduced motifs borrowed from herbs, plants, flowers, коней, serpents, and other animals. The aesthetic struck a chord with Baby Boomers and Millennials, who were nostalgic for the brand's signatures, which reigned when they were infants and toddlers.
The aesthetic of the two designers couldn't have been more different. Ford favored a sleek "disco" club look featuring sexy and slinky silk dresses with few embellishments. Gucci's popularity shot up immediately. If Ford was a minimalist, Michele was a maximalist in the best sense of the world.
Michele's penchant for the natural world manifests itself in his signature bees, buzzing across small leather goods and handbags, including the now-iconic snake handbags with heavy metal serpents gracing the front of the handbag.
Michele revisited Gucci's iconic double G logo, canvas bags, and horse-bit loafers, which in his quirky hands became fur-lined slippers and clogs, further driving sales of the accessories division — historically the cash cow of the brand. Logo bags came next hand-painted with flowers or embroidered with giant insects — a theme Michele continued to explore during his time at Gucci.
Michele in 2015 was plucked from the ranks of Gucci's leather accessories division, where he worked under then-creative director Frida Gianninni. Michele's style helped Gucci to regain its place in the fashion pantheon by attracting a younger customer. The house's double G logo and iconic horsey imagery fueled the brand's growth of 35%-plus for five consecutive quarters, prompting then-CEO Marco Bizarre to call for a 10 billion euro revenue target in June of that year.
Michele has publicly shown interest in the film industry – ironically, where Tom Ford parked himself following his defection from the fashion house. Five years after his first show at Gucci, in the middle of the global Covid-19 pandemic, Michele upended another fashion convention – he declared he wouldn't adhere to the fashion industry's "worn-out ritual of seasonalities and shows." Rather, he opted to regain a new cadence, "closer to my expressive call. We will meet just twice a year, to share the chapters of a new story," Michele proposed, conceiving new names for the collections inspired by the music world.
If the words Rock Star come to mind when thinking of Michele, you wouldn't be too far off. His nearly eight-year tenure – a lifetime in the fashion industry – ended because he reportedly wanted to produce a couture collection, and Kering nixed the request. Of course, Michele won't be a lone ranger for long. He'll likely be snapped up quickly for his singular aesthetic and proven design sensibility, not to mention his leadership skills. The world can only wait and see what his next project will be.