Gucci geek chic sparkles in Milan rain

Alessandro Michele’s second womenswear
collection since taking the creative reins at Gucci was unveiled to rave
reviews on Wednesday as Milan’s Spring/Summer 2016 shows got off to a flier.

A collection immediately dubbed “geek chic” featured elements
including
oversized glasses of a kind last seen on 1970s librarians, pussy bow
blouses,
lots of berets, much intricate embroidery, including some on biker jackets
featuring as one of several androgynous pieces.
The overall feel was quirky feminine in line with the direction Michele
signalled with his first collection in February — but there was also
something almost perversely anti-glamour about it too.
One translucent dress was paired with what looked like an oversized pair
of
control pants.

It seems, however, that Michele can do no wrong at the moment and the
tone
of early reaction online was fairly rapturous with glossy magazine
commentators confidently predicting another season of waiting lists for the
hottest items.

Hollywood stars Dakota Johnson and Salma Hayek were among the Michele
fans
to brave the torrential rain in Milan to take in a show staged in a disused
old train platform.
With a chilly breeze sweeping down from the Alps, it was not the day to
be
strutting around in a diaphonous number but it was not until the courtesy
cars
started getting stuck in the mud outside that the models started to
complain.
In his show notes, Michele said he had drawn inspiration from the “Carte
de
Tendre”, an imaginary map charting the path to love that was published in
the
17th Century by French literary figure Madeleine de Scudery.
“Each object in the collection is offered up as a small atlas of
emotions,”
he says.
“A treasure chest of aesthetic references, a sentimental cartography in
which patterns, extraordinary craftsmanship and rarefied materials are
interwoven.”

Although Gucci is owned by French holding company Kering most of its
production and design are still Italian and the prospect of another sell-out
season for such a big player will come as welcome news for an industry which
entered this fashion week in upbeat mood.

A backdrop of strong sales at home and abroad and a revamp of Milan’s
fashion week infrastructure have contributed to the optimistic feel.
Michele, a shaggy-haired Roman, went from being an accessories designer
known only to fashion insiders to one of the biggest jobs in the industry
following the abrupt departure of his long-standing predecessor Frida
Giannini
at the start of this year.

Famously, he only had five days to finish off Giannini’s final
menswear
collection and barely a month to put on his first womenswear show in
February.
He pulled it off in triumphant fashion with a collection that bore many
of
the hallmarks of his own, eccentric personal style — best described as a
time
travel tapestry in which English civil war royalist meets California dropout
from the 1970s.
Gucci’s bosses had said they wanted a new direction to turn around the
brand’s flagging fortunes, and they got it. Now it seems he has delivered
again.

Business is booming

Italy’s textile and clothing exports, dominated by the high
value-added
fashion sector, hit a record high in July and the national fashion body
Camera
della Moda is anticipating growth of 5.5 percent in all sales in 2015.

For an industry that turned over 61.2 billion euros last year, that
translates to a lot of secured jobs and significant margins for new
investment.
“Italian fashion has benefited from a stronger dollar and a return of
confidence among European and American consumers,” said Gaetano Marzotto,
head
of the textile group Marzotto.

“It is true that in China, luxury products, watches and jewellery in
particular have seen a fall in sales due to anti-corruption measures, but
the
accessible luxury that characterises the made-in-Italy trademark have held
up
well.”
Giuseppe Angiolini, honorary chairman of the Italian chamber of fashion
buyers, says his compatriots appear to be falling in love with fashion
again.
“More than a recovery, I’d say it is an awakening,” he said. “Two years
ago
everyone was totally fed up with fashion. Now we are seeing customers’
desire
and interest is back.” (AFP)

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