Alessandro Michele’s Gucci Creations, 7 Years of Acclaimed Creativity
With its whimsical universe, punctuated by a pronounced taste for the baroque, romanticism, and a retro touch, Alessandro Michele’s Gucci creations have left their creative mark on both the Gucci house and the fashion world at large. After 20 years at the house, including 7 as head of creative direction, let’s rediscover how the Roman designer has made a mark, and what path the Florentine house is set to take after his departure and the arrival of its new creative director, Sabato de Sarno.
How did Alessandro Michele’s Gucci creations redefine the image of the house?
The Roman designer is among those who transport a brand into another world. Alessandro Michele’s Gucci creations have restored to the Florentine house the glory it seemed to have lost, by redefining its image and creating a strong identity, both through its pieces and its fashion shows.
Who is Alessandro Michele?
Dreaming of being an archaeologist as a child, Alessandro Michele let his rich imagination of adventures take over the fabrics of the various houses that welcomed him. A graduate of the Academy of Costume and Fashion in Rome, a designer at Les Copains, then at Fendi in 1990 as a Senior Designer for accessories, the Gucci chapter starts for the Roman designer in 2002, at the request of Tom Ford.
Working on leather goods and then accessories, he was later appointed creative director, alongside Frida Giannini, the artistic director at the time, whom he succeeded in 2015. He also evolved in parallel as the D.A. of the porcelain manufacturer Ginori, acquired in 2013 by Gucci.
How Alessandro Michele Transformed Gucci?
Thanks to his experience at Gucci, the designer was able to work on a new brand image, more modern and breaking with the old codes, while respecting the values of the Italian house.
Alessandro Michele’s Gucci creations have been synonymous with renewal in terms of style and aesthetics. The house’s predominant sexy cuts were replaced by pieces that are both chic and vintage, with multiple colorful layers. His pieces were enriched with his inspirations, from Visconti to Fellini, through the antique period, and the golden age of Hollywood, resembling works of art.
Alessandro Michele’s work also brought a modern discourse on fashion. By advocating gender fluidity, playing on the androgynous aspects of the models and carrying the vision of an inclusive fashion. The models, men and women, binary and transgender, are on an equal footing, parade together, wear dresses and jewelry without differentiation. The pieces also carry messages, with the slogan “my body my choice” or even, embroideries in the shape of a uterus.
A vision that has seduced, and which has allowed Gucci to regain popularity and increase its sales, notably by rejuvenating the target audience.
The designer also integrated eco-responsibility issues into his creative process, with the 2020 Off The Grid capsule collection, entirely designed through a circular production.
Why have Alessandro Michele’s Gucci creations made such an impact?
Alessandro Michele’s Gucci creations have succeeded in establishing themselves as pieces recognizable at first glance. A success explained by the creation of a very strong brand DNA, cradled by the designer’s rich universe. Collections resembling a curiosity cabinet, where every pattern, cut, texture has come to reveal different facets of his creativity, between bohemian fiber and bold seventies motifs, a mix of romanticism and baroque, vintage and dandy chic silhouette, all with a mystical touch.
Creations that seem to come from elsewhere, at the crossroads of a Wes Anderson film and an imaginary world.
A Remarkable Arrival at the Helm of the House
Designed in just 5 days, for the Gucci men’s show in February 2015, Alessandro Michele’s first Gucci creations had made an impact. Between notes of the Italian Renaissance, characteristic of the house, and renewal through retro cuts and colors, Dandy silhouettes and androgynous models, the collection broke with the house’s previous chapters and signaled the entry into a new era.
A new vision of fashion and brand codes that was confirmed at the New York cruise show and was celebrated with a British Fashion Award for International Designer in 2015, repeated the following year by the Council of Fashion Designer of America.
The Art of Fashion Shows According to Designer Alessandro Michele
Viewing the fashion show as a field of expression rather than just a showcase for his collections, Alessandro Michele has continuously attracted attention with his creative happenings. Through them, he takes a stand, conveys messages, questions, shocks, disorients.
Alessandro Michele’s fashion shows are moments of spectacle, matching the venues that host them, from Westminster Abbey to the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Moments where creation and scenography come to question the place of Man and his mental health, denounce institutions and a conformist society. Moments designed to shake up codes and provoke. Notably, by having men and women walk the same runway, playing on the androgynous appearance of the models and the diversity of shapes and origins, but also, by using pieces solely as a message vector, and not integrated into the collection.
Models in white straitjackets, mechanical walk on treadmills, replica heads carried in arms, presentation of pieces on twins… The fashion shows featuring Alessandro Michele’s Gucci creations are among those that are remembered.
Moments that even replicate themselves through trends on social networks, or on the prestigious red carpet of the MET Gala, where Jared Leto also came with a replica of his head, as well as a double of the designer.
Beyond the content of his fashion shows, Alessandro Michele also wished to create his own collection calendar, in order to conceive his fashion in a more reasoned and responsible manner.
Collaborations at the Heart of Alessandro Michele’s Gucci Creations
Alessandro Michele’s Gucci creations have also made room for striking collaborations. We can mention, among others, the joint collection with Balenciaga during the 100th anniversary of Gucci. And more recently, that with Adidas, taking as its background the works of Stanley Kubrick.
On the artistic exchange side, we also saw the birth of the Gucci Ha Ha Ha collection created alongside Harry Style.
The Influence of Alessandro Michele Across the Gucci Universe
Alessandro Michele also extended the essences of his universe into the Gucci Beauty and haute perfumery ranges. As well as in various venues, like the Gucci Wooster concept store in New York, its 100% leather goods address in Paris with the aesthetics of a wagon, or even, the Palazzo della Mercanzia, combining a living space, museum, shop, and Gucci Osteria restaurant (also present in Los Angeles, Tokyo, and Seoul).
