Review of Gucci Fall 2022 Fashion Show
Alter Mundus Exquisitus – Another Exquisite Gucci World
By Lizzy Bowring
Despite the seasonal quotidien of fashion month, ensuing shows and recurring stories, Gucci, with Alessandro Michele at its helm continues to deliver intrigue.
Small wonder, that Gucci’s revenue continues to climb with staggering success – 31% up for Fall 21.
It is fundamental to understand why and several reasons come to mind.
Tantamount is Gucci’s authenticity in approach; the brand aligns with who they are and the positive ways in which they connect with their audience.
This positivity reflects in all that they do, from funding charity, (UNICEF, Gucci changemakers) to those keywords of inclusivity, and diversity.
Gucci “Inclusivity is the new exclusivity”.
We wondered, where Alessandro Michele would head after the last collection which was full of feminine silhouettes, albeit that it was mentioned perhaps we should take note of the hybrid menswear jackets and stretch athletic leggings. Perhaps that’s why we are in the business of fashion forecasting!
And, for all of this, the product this season, is creative, relevant, and modern. It also helps when the CEO, Marco Bizarri believes in creativity –
The idea from the very beginning is to have a product that is exclusive but also to create a culture of inclusivity and creativity. We must maintain this creativity and freshness, this desire to innovate”.
– Marco Bizzarri
And so, with every season, this fabulous partnership between the two men allows Alessandro Michele to fill Gucci collections with rich cerebral literary references. When art, cultural heritage and fashion combine, the result is deep and stimulating, something that conveys hope and joy – more today than ever before. But perhaps it is the poignant message behind the press release and the bold analogy that Alessandro wrote about ‘Baroque’ mirrors.
Through the mirror, it is, in fact, possible to reach a transparent and exact comprehension of reality. A prodigy of immediate and total reproduction, the mirror becomes the symbol of the unaltered vision of things. It’s the celebration of the metamorphosis, where the playful mechanics of refractions shatter every spatial limit and pave the way for escape. The clothes, in fact, are capable of reflecting our image in an expanded and transfigured Dimension.
– Alessandro Michele
Today, we witnessed the celebration of clothes through the mirrored lens of Alessandro Michele and came to understand the enchantment that lies behind his creative stimulis.
The Impression attended an exclusive press conference post show in which Alessandro speaks to his inspiration and the metaphor of mirrors. But first let me take through through this magical hall of mirrors and show you the opening incandescent silhouettes that Michele presented for Fall 22.
The first profile of a menswear inspired suit was as liquid in movement as it was fluid in interpretation and was a perfect launch pin for the ensuing silhouettes that came behind, refracted against the wall of mirrors and creating further nuances and dimensions. The plethora of menswear had much to do with the fact that this was also a hybrid collection.
I think a lot about design, starting with menswear which happens to work well for women but also it’s interesting to present the duality of a mens collection in womens fashion week”.
– Alessandro Michele
Stated by Alessandro Michele at the press conference
Of course, Alessandro Michele has always adhered to doing things differently:
Seven years ago I came here and showed a mens collection and they say I was the inventor of gender fluidity. I am halfway between womens and mens clothes and I really like it when women steal mens clothes. Today you dont have to shift too much between masculine and feminine as mens clothes may be made for men but fit well on women”.
– Alessandro Michele
Throughout the collection, this gender fluidity came in easy-to-wear items. The mix of the masculine tailoring with feminine sexiness and sleeker silhouette spoke volumes. There was a fresh street edge to the collection, the Adidas logo and combination of styles were superb. The streetwear plays a huge part in his vision – it’s how the younger generation look at dressing – its combining all the elements, whether active, street, dressed up or sartorial, in his hands, it all comes together and works as if it was meant to be. And that is just it – he is in tune, he watches and absorbs and like a sponge, takes it all in, digests and puts out his creative metamorphosis. The menswear is just the beginning as he bends and twists stimulation. Adidas and an image of Madonna in 1993 played such an integral component within this collection.
The collection is about the metamorphosis and breaking codes through sportswear and I had a picture of Madonna from 1993 in a dress by Adidas. I think about what I see on the street, I think that the catwalk resembles the street and then I think about how often I thought about Adidas in my work”.
– Alessandro Michele
The images in my mirror aren’t a real one, they help me to think how clothes can be corrupted, I shrink them and expand them and they become contradiction about being in the world”.
– Alessandro Michele
And that’s how Alessandro Michele perceives the analogy to mirrors. We are after all, in the clothes that we wear, a refracted image of ourselves and in this, we can see that clothes generate diverse, multiple images. This was another exquisite Gucci world.
