It was that sort of Grace Jones-singing-atop-a-motorcycle energy and playful decadence that Gucci sent down the runway in exuberant fashion. The circus came in the form of Jane Birkin’s surprise performance singing “Baby Alone in Babylone” and parrots and gold chains and Dolly Parton airbrush jackets. In other words, it was a very fun time.
As Michele noted, the interior of Le Palace is not “a bit dusty, a bit abandoned” but still “the perfect playground.” The designer continued to Vogue, “The life of Le Palace, and the many lives it included, fascinates me,” says Michele. “So many people would come here to get lost, find love, find a friend, leaving the noise and chaos outside, like a refuge.”
It’s that spirit that Gucci’s ringleader wanted to pay tribute to with a new issue of the cult fanzine Le Palace. The original zine debuted in 1978 and was published until 1983. Michele recreated the original version using the same paper and featured an interview with actress Eva Ionesco, as well as photos by Martin Parr of the preparation of the Spring collection. The Gucci creative director worked with the zine’s original publisher Prosper Assouline and Purple’s Olivier Zahm.
Zahm and Assouline had a chat about the legacy of Le Palace. “It was a revelation: a moment of freedom, [decadence], meetings, confidences of stars, eccentricity, beauty, complexity of ideas of all kinds, sexualities of all kinds, new music,” Assouline said.