Alessandro Michele lifts the veil on the magic of Gucci
The vibe
For his AW20, Alessandro Michele did something a little different. He took the focus away from the clothes (though more on that later) and put it firmly on the Gucci crew that puts the show together.
In his show notes, he revealed: 'I decided to unveil what lies behind the curtains. May then miracle of skilled hands and holding breath come out of the shadows. May the collective intelligence that takes care of gestation be visible, as shivers rage on. May that wild and crazy hive that I made my home have a throne.'
The venue
And so, to highlight the work that goes behind each collection, we entered the venue through the backstage, seeing firsthand the models being prepped by the hair and make-up team.
At the beginning of the show, models stepped onto a revolving stage, still in their dressing gowns, where a team of stylists and couturiers awaited to dress them to Ravel's Bolero, which resulted in the magical experience that Alessandro likened to the ritual of going to the movies or the circus.
The show ended with the crew taking the places of the models and walking off the carousel to applause from the crowd.
The clothes
Gucci being Gucci, the clothes of course told a story themselves. Alessandro referenced the circus and the movies and the clothes took us on a journey, from Pilgrim-esque black dresses with white bibs paired with hats, to Marie Antoinette style ruffled dresses, cute 60s sailor dresses and 70s floral suits.
The accessories
Maximalist Gucci fans were not disappointed. In terms of hair accessories alone, there were jewelled headbands and retro headscarfs, tall Pilgrim hats and fluffy balaclavas. There were metallic ladylike gloves, oversized cross necklaces, statement handbags and sparkly shoes.
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The standout piece
I've always loved a good Gucci suit, so I have to admit I fell in love with this green 70s floral number, paired as it was with fluffy socks and bejewelled Mary Janes. Extra style points for the matching tie and diamante headpiece.
Penny Goldstone is the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire, covering everything from catwalk trends to royal fashion and the latest high street and Instagram must-haves.
Penny grew up in France and studied languages and law at the Sorbonne Nouvelle University in Paris before moving to the UK for her MA in multimedia journalism at Bournemouth University. She moved to the UK permanently and has never looked back (though she does go back regularly to stock up on cheese and wine).
Although she's always loved fashion - she used to create scrapbooks of her favourite trends and looks, including Sienna Miller and Kate Moss' boho phase - her first job was at MoneySavingExpert.com, sourcing the best deals for everything from restaurants to designer sales.
However she quit after two years to follow her true passion, fashion journalism, and after many years of internships and freelance stints at magazines including Red, Cosmopolitan, Stylist and Good Housekeeping, landed her dream job as the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire UK.
Her favourite part of the job is discovering new brands and meeting designers, and travelling the world to attend events and fashion shows. Seeing her first Chanel runway IRL at Paris Fashion Week was a true pinch-me moment.
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