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Everything you need—and need to know—about Michele’s latest Cruise ’19 collection.
Call it a zeitgeist; call it a newfound creation or simply call it the ‘Gucci Effect.’ Fashion wunderkind Alessandro Michele continues to transcend an industry many times in retrograde, holding firm through inimitable style and design; mirrored by dark undertones, garish theatrics, and deep-rooted history. As the latest Gucci cruise collection hits shelves this week, we take a walk down memory lane to revel in the compelling aftertaste its elaborate runway show left behind.
Michele returns with his Cruise ‘19 collection ‘Arles,’ named after the sleepy South of France backdrop to this season’s runway show. The venue, set within the Promenade Des Alyscamps burial ground, was accompanied by stone sarcophagi of the Roman Rulers who occupied the city once before. Aptly, the burial ground played host to a collection that explores the Constantine Empire, death, and life after death. Show notes suggested that Michele categorized his creations as “widows attending grave sites, kids playing rock ’n’ roll stars, and ladies who aren’t ladies.”
Gucci remains true to its trademark formula instilled by Michele since January 2015, succeeding the sleekly understated Frida Giannini, as he evokes urgency and demand through a juxtaposition of vintage references and a modern mindset that is familiar yet refreshing—he incorporates his most favored ’70’s Victorian aesthetic, intricate detailing, all while creating a conversation amidst both fashion enthusiasts and novice alike.
This new collection consists of everything we know and love about Gucci with a haunting twist of history’s enchanting past that somehow trickles into our foreseeable future. A mixture of rococo luxury and gaudy opulence through the lens of floral silk prints, tiger patterns, velvet dresses, embroidered capes, English checked tweed, draping cloaks, and black fur meets mutton sleeves. There’s also a nod to local history featured in embroidered verses by Italian poet Dante Alighieri, one of the many artists who once found inspiration in the Alyscamps.
But not everything was a look back. In an Instagram post, Michele flirts with an exploration of forward-thinking, stating, “The inspiration is an ossuary, the crypts of the Cardinals, of the monks in the 15th century, and the precious decorations. This idea is that everything that is linked to the afterlife is accompanied by something of maximum beauty.”
So, if you can’t wait to get your hands on an exaggerated flared pantsuit or fringed ensemble, wait no more as the Gucci Cruise ‘19 collection is available in stores this week. Now we can all go live our best life.
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