MILAN FASHION WEEK AUTUMN WINTER 2022: GUCCI
GUCCI’s Rhinestones Sprinkled over All Genders were Sparkling Reminders that Fashion has Turned an All-Inclusive Corner.
All Image and Video Credit: Gucci, Milan Fashion Week and Vogue
Old gold faux fur, lacy underwear and cobalt blue boots set the tone for an eclectic collection
One could cut the atmosphere with a knife in the monumental space Alessandro Michele chose to stages Gucci’s hugely anticipated first runway return to Milan two years on, all red-lit, with electric light beams bouncing off the mirrored walls, and runway, the sizable crowd impatient, gagging to experience yet again ‘live’, one of the undisputed biggies on the Italian fashion calendar.
A-list celebrities Serena Williams, A$AP Rocky, Jared Leto and a glowing, heavily pregnant Rihanna in faux fur and little else – her round tummy exposed, the latter decorated with a long chain, a dangling Twenties-style sequin headpiece crowning her famous locks, rocked up too – front row seating of course. All here to pay homage to Italian fashion, to genius fashion magician Alessandro Michele and iconic fashion house Gucci. And of course to get a first look at and stake a claim on the gems Gucci has in store for 2022.
The show kicked off with an electrifying spectacle of light bouncing off the mirrored catwalk – bang, bang, bang! Alessandro Michele’s clothes stopped us in our tracks. Momentarily semi-distorted by mirrors as the models appeared, piece after piece kept wowing. (Alessandro Michele has a thing for mirrors and mused in his press release that “clothes are capable of reflecting our image in an expanded and transfigured dimension… wearing them means to cross a transformative threshold where we become something else” – prophetic words from one of the high priests of gender-fluidity in fashion.)
Men’s suits were flawlessly pulled off by women and vice versa, men in dangling earrings never looked more sensational and sequins on all genders were sparkling reminders that fashion has turned an all-inclusive corner. Each of these pieces were awe-inspiring in their eclectic complexity and in their haphazard, clashing yet totally harmonious components.
A collaboration with another legend of the fashion world, Adidas, saw sportswear elements effortlessly infused into the looks. Traditional tailoring, tweeds and plaids shared a space with the iconic three stripes on hats, bags and on garments, all looking perfectly at home in the same ensemble. In fact, a striking sportwear rendition of Madonna’s famous corset dress of 1993 looked very 2022 indeed.
Tailoring underpinned the entire collection, but thrown into the delicious mix were definite nods to recycling, upcycling and thrift-shop glamour in the different textures and unorthodox colour and fabric fusions, which only added to the charm of this awesome – in the true sense of the word – collection. Alessandro Michele’s is a recipe that simply worked, defying all design logic. Or perhaps the world is ready for fashion that looks and feels just like this, with all its references to thrifting and sustainability.
Suffices to say we were more than bowled over – (Adidas) pun intended.
Watch the Gucci show here:
Faux fur, leather and lace (oh and no top!)
Plaid, sportswear and a pearl necklace
A fur-hemmed plaid cape
Eighties hair, a rhinestone studded red suit and sporty shoes
Traditional tailoring, an Adidas cap and an apple green bag
Florals, pinstripes and that iconic 3-striped cap
‘Guccifying’ the iconic Madonna dress
Silver foil trousers and a green Adidas dustcoat
Knitted trousers, sporty sneakers and a patterned wool coat
A chartreuse suit and clutchbag
One of the only overtly ‘feminine’ pieces in the collection
A patterned Seventies-inspired coat with its faux fur collar over plaid trousers, worn with a beret
A spectacularly patterned pussybow collar suit with studded bogues and beret
Golf-inspired culottes, boots and faux fur
An Eighties-inspired royal blue space suit with exaggerated shoulders
A shiny stripy chinz suit a-la the Eighties
Thrift shop magic with its boxing glove gloves
A knitted suit with matching balaclava
Eighties rock chic with wide belt and sporty shoes
Elegance in a sky blue Adidas suit
Eclectic chic – mustard boots and purple beret
An oversized parka and military culottes, a studded bag and boots complete the picture
An asymmetrical jacket and oversize leather tote
A wax blue corduroy suit and shoulder bag
Studded!
Faux fur, lacy stockings and ankle-tie stilettos
Simple and sporty, with studded ‘boxing glove’ gloves
Fur-trimmed everywhere!
Metallic and go-faster stripes
Victoriana got the Gucci/Adidas treatment
Eclectic has never looked better
An elegant fur-hemmed adidas cape with double hoop earrings
A short-sleeved silver foil coat over traditional tailoring
Asymmetry in this intriguing coat ensemble
Patchy fur and a red beret
A loose-fitting faux python coat
Unmatched perfection in this Adidas logo-print trousers and boxy plaid jacket
