Gucci came to the Fall 2019 party guns a-blazing with a presentation that included a wall of flashing lights and mysterious, brightly- colored and almost-creepy, spiked masks (which Alessandro Michele admitted were only a fun detail for the show and would not be for sale). While the masks did their job of pulling us in and preparing us for the utter strangeness of the presentation, the rest of the collection firmly held me in place and kept me wanting to see the next look, and the next look, and the next look.
While the clothes themselves seemed to be more tame than Michele’s other recent offerings (he has abandoned his penchant for baseball trademarks and other logos almost entirely for a more subtle look), the outfits still seemed to impart an otherworldly quality that got my heart pumping as I flipped between the looks.
The silhouettes were oversized, hearkening back to menswear from the 1940s that touted extremely broad shoulders and wide pants (Michele’s were tied at the ankle, almost like a scarecrow), but he still added whimsy with plenty of pleats, ruffled colors, unexpected layering and ridiculous use of even more ridiculous accessories, which, in my opinion, became the star of the show.
From plated, color neck pieces to spiked headbands, these looks were embellished with accessories that were both whimsical and brutal, a delight for the eye to parse and the mind to imagine a character that would wear these accessories. Perhaps the most interesting of all of them were gilded ear coverings that made each model look like some kind of elf or alien- something I had never seen before, which left me equal parts confused and obsessed. Some other, perhaps more practical accessories included oversized fur stoles, logoed knee pads, and studded suspenders that will add some edge to any basic business looks in the season to come.
Alessandro Michele’s Gucci never fails to intrigue and delight me with its prolific and obnoxious creativity. I only hope I can learn to accessorize this boldly!
Check out some of my favorite full looks from the show below:
All photos from Vogue.com
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