Gucci returns to the catwalks for the men collection: there’s no sign of Alessandro Michele
Essential and devoid of esoteric narratives, does Fall Winter 2023 prepare for the arrival of a new creative director or mark the ultimate return to heritage?
Alessandro Michele’s departure and the improvisation of artisans and creatives
The departure of Alessandro Michele from the role of creative director was unexpected news. Both for his role in reviving the brand and for his ability to reinterpret it. The brand’s success also captivated film and music personalities who, linked to Michele’s figure, constituted the familiar faces that surrounded him.
The undoing, if it can be called that of the creative director, is reported to be attributed to different perspectives on the future of the Maison.
However, it is not this collection that unveils Gucci’s new creative director. In the absence of the Deus ex machina, the creative department has tried its hand at improvisation, as the brand itself defines it. Referring to the performing arts, such as theater, and music, a meeting of the different ideas of artisans is proposed. But how noticeable was the lack of an orchestrator?
Gucci: clean, away from any extravagance
The expertise of the Maison’s creatives was the starting point for being able to build from scratch. With each change of creative director, the tendency is to dry, to simplify. Perhaps so that whoever succeeds can find carte blanche. In addition to the skill and savoir faire of the workers, the FW 23 collection relies on the security of the Maison’s own archive. Fluid, tailored silhouettes meet some of the brand’s milestones.
Inspired by the early 2000s, both biker pieces and faded denim. The latter bears the logo the brand used when it opened its New York store in 1953. From the sports archive of the 1980s, on the other hand, derives all the references to the world of dance; here the mystery of the leg warmers is revealed. As well as the juxtaposition of shapes also the colors are tenuous and neutral with the exception of a few pieces.
In styling a mix and match of codes, pieces and attitudes make it difficult to frame the Gucci man. In this regard, the brand returns to improvisation referring to the individuality and personality that each one is capable of providing to the garments they choose to wear.
The first show post-Alessandro Michele. Rebirth symbols or marketing innovation?
Restarting from the essentials, this seemed to be the Gucci brand’s imperative for its first fashion show post-Alessandro Michele. Thus, it is that there is a new version of the brand’s classic monogram that evolves into the Crystal GG, defined by the label symbol of the fashion show as a tool for visual improvisation.
The focus of the archive revival is also based on accessories. From jewelry to printed scarves embedded within the garments. The iconic green bands framing the red one also appear again, but the ultimate protagonists are the bags. With their maxi volumes bring back the monogram pattern and alternate the brand’s more traditional colors with bright or neutral variants.
Unmissable is the Jackie in a version reinterpreted in dimensions and characterized by the piston closure designed by Tom Ford. The fact the Maisons are betting on iconic accessories to raise sales is understood. In the future it will become clear whether dusting off iconic symbols was a restart sign for Gucci or a marketing gimmick.
From punk to jazz, even the soundtrack accompanies improvisation
At the center of the catwalk the music of Marc Ribot’s band Ceramic Dog punctuates the rhythm of improvisation. In a live performance designed just for this catwalk, noise rock is hybridized in the encounter with jazz and punk. Not by coincidence, these are two genres that have made improvisation their specificity.
The central stage allows the catwalk to follow a circular flow. The same becomes a symbol of the fashion show that «symbolizes the collective engine of the creative community at the heart of Gucci», the brand explains.
Alessandro Michele’s legacy
Opening the show is a look with a white T-shirt and wide tailored pants in light shades of brown. A symbol of a clean image in need of renewal, what is left of Michele’s man? Gucci’s last dedicated menswear show was in 2020, then the brand opted for co-ed. The collection with reference to Giovanni Pascoli talked about the possibility of being oneself beyond any imposed limits.
As only in childhood is it possible to implement unconsciously. Complicit in redefining the concept of masculinity through clothing, Michele provides this legacy to Gucci, which continues to reflect on the personal and sincere vision of the term. The tale of the complexity of being a man continues in this season that wants the personality to take center stage. Regarding the evolution of the Gucci man in recent years, the creative director has layered a number of connotations and attitudes absent in the new collection.
The brand responds by emphasizing that it is the wearer who gives personality to the garment, but thus seems to want to leave the role of finding meaning to the customer. Through his imagery, Michele, has provided through his vision of the cosmos relevant meanings to his clothes, including on a political level.
Gucci FW23 and the lack of a narrative
It is fair to wonder, then, whether this show represents the starting point of something different, but that is yet to come. Or perhaps the idea is to make the brand prevail over the character of its creative director, who in the last case definitely influenced its aesthetic.
What is clear from the after-show reactions is that a narrative based only on the Maison’s heritage and archives is not enough for Gucci’s audience. Accustomed instead to dreamy, otherworldly atmospheres imagined by Alessandro Michele. Working on masculine archetypes redefined according to the brand’s own sensuality is the essence of the fashion show.
This, however, does not rely on personal, esoteric narratives, film references, and everything else Michele had developed over recent years. Therefore, this doubt remains at the end of the runway, how much the brand should be the bearer of values and personality and how much authenticity should be sought in the wearer of the clothes?
Gucci FW23 – Menswear
The brand presented its Fall/Winter 2023 collection, the first after Alessandro Michele’s farewell, at Milano Moda Uomo. Gucci’s creative team brought to the runway a collection that is a reissue of the house’s most iconic garments, with nods to the Tom Ford period and the 1980s.
