Chiara Scelsi Poses in Michelle Alessandra's 'Hortus Deliciarum' Jewelry Collection

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Chiara Scelsi Poses in Michelle Alessandra's 'Hortus Deliciarum' Jewelry Collection

Model Chiara Scelsi poses in ‘Tesoros Ocultos’ (Hidden Treasure), a Gucci editorial focused on Gucci’s first high jewelry collection ‘Hortus Deliciarum’. Alessandro Michele personally selected unique gems and motifs that express his poetic vision of fine jewelry in a collection that includes two-hundred jewels, mainly one-off pieces, and evolves around three main themes viewed through the prism of a mythical garden.

The ‘Hortus Deliciarum’ jewelry collection finds its place in Gucci’s new boutique in Place Vendôme. It features the three themes of Alessandro Michele’s vision: 1) paying homage to eternal love’s classic emblems. 2) honoring the majesty of the animal world; and 3) a focus on the solitaire ring, reinterpreted according to a flamboyant allure.

Anya Holdstock captures the Gucci sensory extravaganza for Vogue Espana November 2019./ Hair by Christoph Hasenbein; makeup by Marion Robine

Met Costume 'Camp' Exhibit Inspires A Look At Donald Trump's 'Dictator Chic' Design Tastes

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Met Costume 'Camp' Exhibit Inspires A Look At Donald Trump's 'Dictator Chic' Design Tastes

AOC originally published this article on Donald Trump’s design tastes being called ‘Dictator Chic’ in March 2017. Writing about the upcoming May 6 Met Gala and Gucci-sponsored ‘Camp: Notes on Fashion’, open to the public May 9 through September 8, 2019, I recalled this article focused on Trump’s professed love for Louis XIV opulence.

Dictators LOVE pseudo, camp Louiv XIV interior design.

'Camp' Explained In Gucci's Pre-Fall 2019 Ad Campaign In Advance Of May 6 Met Gala + Art Exhibit

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Camp Explained In Gucci's Pre-Fall 2019 Ad Campaign In Advance Of May 6 Met Gala + Art Exhibit

Photographer Glen Luchford shoots Gucci’s pre-fall 2019 ad campaign, continuing with the brand’s wildly successful camp approach to fashion under creative director Alessandro Michele. Jonathan Kaye styles models Delphi Mcnicol, Dwight Hoogendijk, Emmanuel Adjaye, Matïss Rucko, Matthew Petersen, Paul Hendrik Piho, Unia Pakhomova, Walter Pearce, and William Valente against the backdrop of old-world Italian traditions.

In advance of the Gucci-sponsored May 6 Met Gala in New York, Alessandro Michele has explained that ‘Camp: Notes on Fashion’, open to the public May 9 through September 8, 2019, is inspired by Susan Sontag’s seminal 1964 essay ‘Notes on Camp’. Sontag’s essay “perfectly expresses what camp truly means to me: the unique ability of combining high art and pop culture.”

'For The Love Of Gucci' Shot At NYC's Whitby Hotel For HauteLiving.com March 2019

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'For The Love Of Gucci' Shot At NYC's Whitby Hotel For HauteLiving.com March 2019

Photographer Nathan Kraxberger captures ‘For The Love Of Gucci’, styled by Celine Griscom with fashion direction by Deyvanshi Masrani for HauteLiving.com March 2019.

The editorial was shot in Manhattan’s Whitby Hotel’s Whitby Suite, designed by Firmdale Hotels’ Kit Kemp. The Whitby is a sibling to Firmdale’s hugely-popular, Crosby Street Hotel in the heart of SoHo.

Gucci Chief Executive Marco Bizzarri Meeting With Dapper Dan Over Blackface Sweater Disaster

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Gucci Chief Executive Marco Bizzarri Meeting With Dapper Dan Over Blackface Sweater Disaster

Gucci Chief Executive Marco Bizzarri is planning to meet with Dapper Dan and other African-American leaders during a trip to New York this week to discuss the sweater debacle. “"I am a Black man before I am a brand," he wrote. “Another fashion house has gotten it outrageously wrong,” Dapper Dan said in an Instagram post. “There is no excuse nor apology that can erase this kind of insult.”

The renowned Harlen fashon designer and tailor originally gained fame knocking off Guuci’s logo in the ‘80s and ‘90s, before finding itself in the drivers seat when Alessandro Michele knocked off one of Dapper Dan’s designs in his own 2018 Resort collection. The two men signed a peace treaty with Dapper Dan collaborating with Gucci on a vintage hip-hop-inspired capsule collection. Then Kering stepped in to underwrite Dap’s new studio and atelier in Harlem, while making him the face of a special tailoring campaign. Gucci has also underwritten several art events celebrating black culture in Harlem and around New York.

As the former head of product development and fashion director for Victoria’s Secret, I recommend that Gucci load up a corporate jet with design talent and head for Washington, DC and a trip to the African American Museum of African American History and Culture. This will give them a complete understanding of the sensitivity of black face in America to progressives of every skin color.

Glen Luchford Flashes Old Hollywood Glamour + High Spirits For Gucci Spring Summer 2019 Campaign

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Glen Luchford Flashes Old Hollywood Glamour + High Spirits For Gucci Spring Summer 2019 Campaign

Glen Luchford captures Gucci’s latest Spring Summer 2019 campaign, channeling the early days of celebrity culture and the golden age of the Hollywood musical.

In imagery that recalls the technicolour, on-screen theatricality of the song and dance numbers made famous by talented performers, this campaign delivers maximum glitz and glamour. Colourful sets with grand stages and staircases alternate with more surreal dream sequence backdrops. The mood is playful, knowing and evokes the joyful outlook of the famous musical films of the 40s and 50s. In another set of photographs, Gucci mimics the highly stylised black and white publicity stills created by the studios at the time to promote their stars as perfect role models. A variety of characters from Gucci’s musical are given the silver screen treatment and shot in black and white with dramatic lighting in the style of the many famous movie star portraits in the 30s and 40s. Like those of the period, these pictures exude cool, elegant glamour. – from Gucci

Faye Dunaway & Soko Enjoy Old Hollywood For Gucci Sylvie Bag Campaign, Shot By Petra Collins

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Faye Dunaway & Soko Enjoy Old Hollywood For Gucci Sylvie Bag Campaign, Shot By Petra Collins

Academy award-winning actor Faye Dunaway makes sweet music with French muscian and actor Soko for Gucci Sylvie Bag's Fall Winter 2018.19 campaign, lensed by Petra Collins. Gucci's Alessandro Michele is in charge of creative direction for the over-the-top glimpse into the lives of the ultra-wealthy, with art direction from Christopher Simmonds. 

The Gucci Sylvie Bag video is shot from Soko's perspective in this lavish, old-Hollywood video.

Gucci Launches Equilibrium, Furthering Commitment to Sustainability and Transparency

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Gucci has again affirmed its commitment to sustainability and transparency with the launch of Gucci Equilibrium, an online platform "designed to connect people, planet and purpose". 

“We have been working on sustainability for so long and we realised at one point that our actions needed to be better understood within and outside the company,” president and CEO Marco Bizzarri told WWD.

The Equilibrium.gucci.com website will launch a company-wide program for the 13,000 Gucci employees, allowing every member of the staff to dedicate one percent of their working time to volunteering in their local communities.

“These are critical times when we can all play our part in helping to deliver on the UN Global Goals and the Paris Climate Agreement,” Bizzarri added. “The only way to do that is by bringing people together, sharing ideas, innovation and experiences. This is the objective we have set for Gucci Equilibrium.”

Gucci’s 10-year sustainability plan centers around three pillars: the environment, people and innovation. Within the first pillar, it has set a target to guarantee the traceability of 95 percent of raw materials. Its “scrap-less” program in association with its tanneries, which reduces the quantity of leather that is treated during the manufacturing process, follows Gucci's late fall announcement that the house will no longer use fur in its collections.

Following in the footsteps of Salma Hayek and Beyoncé's Chime for Change dedicated to girls' and women's empowerment long embraced by Gucci, Gucci Equilibrium will launch a series of social enterprises, such as "I was a Sari", in which Gucci craftspeople teach women from Mumbai's marginalized communities in Mumbai how to upcycle saris. 

Tippi Hedren Plays Fortune Teller In Gucci 2018 Timepieces + Jewelry Campaign

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Tippi Hedren Plays Fortune Teller In Gucci 2018 Timepieces + Jewelry Campaign

Gucci assembles a fantastic cast starring actor Tippi Hedren, age 88, playing a fortune teller to models Emily Unkles, Tex Santos Shaw, Tom Atton Moore and Victoria Schons in the brand's 2018 Timepieces + Jewelry campaign.  While reading a gold crystal ball, Hedren wears several layered gold bangles and bracelets along with the brand's snake-inspired rings. She also wears an Alessandro Michele-designed Gucci print dress.

Before becoming a Hollywood actress (now many of us use the word 'actor'), working with Hitchcock, Hedren was a successful fashion model. She is the mother of Melanie Griffith and grandmother of Dakota Johnson, who previously starred in a campaign for Gucci's Bloom, fragrance and is known to be a good friend of Gucci creative director Alessandro Michele. 

Tippi Hedren is an original #MeToo, Time's Up girl, walking away from Alfred Hitchcock after making two films -- 'The Birds' and 'Marnie' -- with the famous director. 

Before becoming a Hollywood actress, working with Hitchcock in 1962-64, Hedren was a successful fashion model throughout the 1950s. 

Simply stated, Hitchcock was obsessed with Tippi Hedren, and if he couldn't have her (yes, he was married) no one would. Note that Hendren never sent mixed signals to Hitchcock, and his brutal treatment of her was known in Hollywood. When the actor walked away to save herself and her sanity, after Hitchcock assaulted her and stalked her, it was clear that Hitchcock's admonishment that she would never work again in Hollywood was true. 

Gucci's Alessandro Michele Taps Ignasi Monreal In 'Utopian Fantasy' Spring/Summer 2018 Campaign

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Gucci's creative director Alessandro Michele continued the brand's undiluted embrace of extravagant artistry, unveiling yet another brilliant ad campaign for Spring/Summer 2018. This season Gucci taps Ignasi Monreal to create digital paintings that mimic great paintings from the Pre-Raphealite era to the Renaissance to Surrealism and beyond.

The January 2018 launch campaign is meant to conjure a “Utopian Fantasy” with a focus on three elements: the earth, the sea, and the sky in a series of imaginative landscapes. The beautiful works would be just at home in a sci-fi magazine as they would in a museum, making this campaign yet another tribute to an explosion of creative artistry in the fashion world -- a high-voltage sip of optimism and confidence in our Trumpian world. 

Eye: Gucci Kisses Fur Goodbye, Launches Collab With Artist Helen Downie & Gets Dapper Dan In Harlem

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Eye: Gucci Kisses Fur Goodbye, Launches Collab With Artist Helen Downie & Gets Damn Dapper In Harlem

Gucci amps up its collaborative mood with a series of brilliant collabs, including Alessandro Michele's own utilization of Elton John's archives for his spring/sumer 2018 collection. Featured here is Gucci's teamup with artist Helen Downie -- aka Unskilled Worker. The 40-piece capsule collection of ready-to-wear, shoes, bags, silks and accessories launched on October 11. 

Images from the campaign include models Stella Lucia, Ellia Sophia, Mia Gruenwald and Unia Pakhomova captured by Clara Balzary. 

Gucci's creative director discovered Downie on Instagram. The artist discovered painting without any formal training at age 48, rising to international fame in two years. Her creative breakthrough came in 2013 after a battle with cancer and a detox from alcohol and drugs. 

Mick Rock Shoots Gucci Cruise 2018 Campaign In Rome With An Eyeful Of Eclectic Talent

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Mick Rock Shoots Gucci Cruise 2018 Campaign In Rome With An Eyeful Of Eclectic Talent

Gucci's creative director Alessandro Michele returns to his beloved Rome for Gucci's Cruise 2018 campaign. The eclectic eye-candy images feature a fashionable, creative talent gaggle of 'real people in real places -- often their homes' shot by British photographer Mick Rock. 

Barbara Alberti, Francesco Bianconi, Alessandro Borghi, Silvia Calderoni, Marina Cicogna, Lucio Corsi, Caterina de Renzis Sonnino, Ginevra Elkann, Francesca Romana Fontana,
Rosa Gambino, Sonia Hang, Miriam Leone, Gabriele Lepera, Betani Mapunzo, Chiara Mastroianni, Sofia Mattioli, Mosè Auer-Nozza, Fabrizio and Stefano Occhipinti, Giulia Salvatore, Valerio Sirna, Stefano Torossi, Lucrezia Valia and Matteo Zoppis are part of the campaign.

Rock gained fame documenting stars Syd Barrett, Lou Reed, Iggy Pop, Blondie, Talking Heads, the Ramones and the Sex Pistols, "in addition to being David Bowie’s official photographer during the artist’s Ziggy Stardust incarnation', writes WWWD. The photographer’s experience around trend-setting rock stars also included the creations of a range of memorable album covers, such as Lou Reed’s “Transformer,” Iggy and the Stooges’ “Raw Power” and Queen’s “Queen II.”

A short movie directed by Chuck Grant will be released both in 60-second and 120-second formats. The sensory-drenched collage centers on the campaign's talents and details of the collection juxtaposed with full-framed clips to multiple, old homemade movie-inspired takes -- all set to the soundtrack of Arthur Russell’s “Place I Know/Kid Like You” song.

Glen Luchford Eyes Gucci's Fall/Winter 2017 Campaign As Intergalactic Sci-Fi Fantasy

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Glen Luchford Eyes Gucci's Fall/Winter 2017 Campaign As Intergalactic Sci-Fi Fantasy

On Tuesday, after a long tease of its upcoming Glen-Luchford-shot Fall 2017 campaign, humanoids, aliens, robots and earthlings came together. Gucci unveiled the short film #gucciandbeyond, a montage rich in 'Star Trek' references and “motifs from sci-fi of the 50s and 60s,” according to the description on Instagram. Gucci’s latest menswear and womenswear collections reinforce fall's fashion message. W Magazine writes:

The campaign pushes Gucci’s Fall 2017 collection farther into space than even its runway managed. Alessandro Michele showed his massive, co-ed presentation in a neon-lit plexiglass tunnel, soundtracked by Jóhann Jóhansson’s “The Rocket Builder,” a song that also featured prominently in the Netflix science fiction series The OA. In the Glen Luchford and Christopher Simmonds-devised video, Michele’s futuristic vision finally gets the set pieces it deserves. And, it turns out, aliens wear Gucci pretty well.

Lina Hoss Fronts Gucci Jewelry & Timepieces S/S 2017 Campaign By Colin Dodgson

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Lina Hoss Fronts Gucci Jewelry & Timepieces S/S 2017 Campaign By Colin Dodgson

Gucci creative director Alessandro Michele shares Gucci's spring/summer 2017 jewelry and timepieces campaign staring Lina Hoss and friends. Photographer Colin Dodgsoncaptures the G-Timeless watch, House Double G necklace, G-Frame watch and more with art direction by Christopher Simmonds. The minute-long film tunes up 'Sketch For Summer' by Vini Reilly.

After Greece's Refusal, Gucci Moves Event To Florence With Promise To Restore Boboli Gardens

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The Boboli Gardens at the Uffizi Gallery. Image Wikimedia Commons.

After Greece's refusal to allow Gucci to use the Parthenon for a June 2017 runway how -- in exchange for a large donation for restoration of the site, the Italian luxury brand has turned to the Palazzo Pitti in Florence, Italy to stage the event at its Galleria Palantina on May 29. 

The $2.13 million allocated for the event space will be used now to restore the Boboli Gardens at the Uffizi Gallery. In announcing the agreement, Gucci CEO Marco Bizzarri said sarcastically: "I guess that Greece's fiscal situation is in better shape than Italy's."  Both economies are under siege, but Italy has very successfully turned to Italy's finest luxury brands to restore its most historic sites, with the full understanding that tourism is imperative to Italy's financial future.

Currently, less than 20 of the 33 acres comprising the gardens are accessible to the public. The Gucci funds will open the entire green space.

Of the agreement, Italy’s culture minister, Dario Franceschini, commented:

“Fashion is also part of our cultural heritage and our history. In our country, taste, elegance, and education in what is beautiful are part of our day-to-day lives.”

“The connection between fashion and art has always been a close one, and it has been often conducive to striking and unique occasions, like this one, where a prestigious Italian fashion brand has decided to invest in an important cultural landmark, while appreciating its mission,” he added.

Petra Collins, Hari Nef, Lena Dunham: From Gucci to Planned Parenthood Via Lenny Letter

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Petra Collins, Hari Nef, Ali Micheal

Petra Collins, Hari Nef, Lena Dunham: From Gucci to Planned Parenthood Via Lenny Letter

Petra's commitment to body sovereignty was on display in this October 2012 Planned Parenthood video 'You Don't Own Me', published as a motivator to American women to vote in the 2012 presidential election.

In January 2016, Lena Dunham's Lenny Letter published 'Hypervisibility', in which Hari Nef reflects "on being a visible member of a marginalized community."  A year later, Nef joined a '100 Years' Planned Parenthood tribute narration cast that includes Meryl Streep, Jennifer Lawrence, America Ferrera, Constance Wu, Mindy Kaling and many more. Kirsten Lepore handled the animation; Abrams and musician Jack Antonoff contributed music.

The film '100 Years', The History of 100 Years of Women's Health Care at Planned Parenthood, was produced by Dunham and J.J. Abrams . 

“This film reminds us of the tremendous progress that’s been made for women’s health and rights just days before the new president is inaugurated — and at a moment when extreme politicians are trying to defund and shut down Planned Parenthood,” Dunham wrote in a note for Lenny Letter.

Lena Dunham, Hari Nef

Eye | Gucci Moves To Combine Women's and Men's Shows | Guram Gvasalia On Limiting Luxury

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Gucci Moves Towards Mixed Gender Fashion Shows

Gucci's CEO Marco Bizzarri told The International New York Times International Luxury conference in Versailles, France, that beginning in 2017, the lead brand of the Kering group will combine it's mens' and women's wear fashion shows into a single event. 

“Moving to one show each season will significantly help to simplify many aspects of our business,” Mr. Bizzarri said. “Maintaining two separate, disconnected calendars has been a result of tradition rather than practicality.” 

Burberry has also announed a similar decision beginning in September, as has Tom Ford. French brand Vetements will have a joint show in January and also begin immediate sales of the collection.  

Gucci is the behemoth brand, reporting $4.4 billion in revenue with 525 wholly-owned stores globally. 

“It is really being looked to as a trailblazer in the industry,” said Julie Gilhart, a consultant and the former fashion director of Barneys New York. “That makes this move potentially the most disruptive change yet.” via New York Times

Anthony Vaccarello Leaves Versus For Saint Laurent

Kering announced yesterday -- as expected -- that Anthony Vaccarello will step into his new role as creative director of Yves Saint Laurent.  The Belgian designer left his post as creative director of Versus Versace after a little more than a year. 

Vetements CEO Gurum Gvasalia On Limiting Luxury

Demna may be the brand’s creative leader, envisioning the world in his ahead-of-the-curve street-cast wardrobe, and subsequently taking Balenciaga by storm, but 30-year-old Guram is the articulate strategist and number cruncher who has carefully propelled the brand to the same level as those that are two decades older than it (the brothers insist that they never, ever have personal conversations in the workplace). After gaining degrees in International Business, European Management and Law at German universities, Gvasalia studied MSc Strategic Fashion Management at London College of Fashion, before working for a handful of luxury brands, including Burberry.

Reflecting on the brand's decision to combine men's and women's collections on the runway and also sell/ship at once, Gurum explains that they refuse to create pre-collections, which stay on the shop floor for much longer than spring / summer  and autumn / winter.  The brothers believe it’s the overproduction of clothes that diminishes the idea of luxury and outstrips demand. The Gvasalia brothers strategy is to stay ahead of demand and "remain scarce by producing a limited run of products that sell out so quickly, that they never go on sale and instantly increase in second-hand value." Read on at 1 Granary

Gucci's Alessandro Michele Tells His Creative Director Story To Vogue July 2015

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Vogue magazine’s Hamish Bowles interviews Gucci’s new creative director Alessandro Michele, describing him as ‘a lot like the woman he champions: daring, curiously compelling — and with a streak of mystery and eccentricity’.

“Fashion is about creating emotion—it’s not necessarily rational,” explains new Gucci CEO Marco Bizzarri, whose first scheduled hour-long meeting with Michele—at the designer’s apartment—segued into three hours discussing the future of the brand. “I thought, Why should I look for someone else when he can translate the heritage—and when the values of Gucci are in his veins?”

The Gucci design team has recently led a peripatetic life. Ford centered it in London, where he lives, while Giannini moved operations to Florence (birthplace of Guccio Gucci, who founded the company in 1921)—and much of the business side is based in Milan, where the company is in the process of relocating to a Mussolini-era aircraft hangar where Michele will stage his collections. Michele, though, prefers Rome. “There is something about the culture of the fifties and the cinema,” he says of his hometown. “But I also need to travel. I need to go to London. You have everything there—present, past, future, exhibitions, theater. And real eccentricity is still very much alive with the English—the kids in the East End, beautiful English old ladies.” He also loves contemporary Los Angeles dressing (“the way they put things together—it’s not chic, but it’s inspiring”) and New York, where he shops vintage stores and where he will present his 2016 resort collection—“a couture show in a garage,” as he explains. “I love couture, but the other side of me loves the street, and I think the mix of these two can create something new. When I go to New York and London, I love to see how very brave the young people are—they have no rules. Even the superchic ladies of the past, like Princess Irene Galitzine, had supermodern attitudes. Today they’d all be into street style.”

Tami Williams & Mica Arganaraz are styled by Camilla Nickerson in images by Jamie Hawkesworth