Courtesy of Gucci by Dan Lecca
A disused theatre, Dolly Parton, a live cockatoo, Micky Mouse and Jane Birkin serenading the audience. Sounds like a bizarre tale? No, it’s just another Gucci show which felt like Alessandro Michele’s most wearable to date.
For SS19, the designer looked to the experimental Italian theatre duo Leo de Berardinis and Perla Peragallo and noted their ‘theatre of contradiction’ as an inspiration for the collection and a means to ‘create nostalgia for another life.’
If you’re used to Michele’s showcases, then an eclectic mashup of decades and cultures in his clothes would not be a surprise to you – we can even accept the leather pants worn by some of the male models and the Micky Mouse shaped bags.
Despite all the theatrics, the collection appeared a little bit more wearable. The styling was perfectly done as for once, we as mere mortals, can envision how to wear these slightly bonkers items without having to break each look down. We would happily dress ourselves in a striped dress with an elongated checked blazer and a cockatoo named Kiki casually sitting on our shoulder.
For the quirks, we saw winged pig embellishment, Dolly Parton image printed on sleeveless denim jackets and sweatshirts, glittering trousers (for the boys), beaded gowns, strawberry-print jeans, jewelled tiara’s and fantastical accessories.
Half way through the show, the 71-year-old singer and actress Birkin stepped up from her front row seat to sing ‘Baby Alone in Babylone’ for the guests. Despite wearing a tailored blacks suit and a white shirt, she stood out among all the shimmer and trinkets and was the perfect person to summarise Gucci’s tribute to France.
