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Creative director, Alessandro Michele raised the curtains in Le Palace nightclub and theatre in Montmartre, Paris, for Gucci’s resplendent SS19 runway show.

 

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Le Palace was a theatre turned nightclub renowned, during the late 70s, for being the haunt where notorious faces from the fashion industry would spill secrets with international musicians, after one too many martinis. Appropriate for the venue, Italian actors and theatre directors, Leo de Berardinis and Perla Peragallo created a short film to open the show. Michele was inspired by the pairs avant-garde and provocative approach to theatre explored throughout the 60s, making them an obvious choice to introduce his artistic vision for the collection. ‘D'amor Sull'ali Rosee’, from the opera ‘Il Trovatore’, encompassed the room, overlaid with conflicting sounds of riots and shouting, both building the audience’s anticipation for what Michele’s theatrical show had in store.

 

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The entire show was a grand patchwork of nostalgic trends as if Michele had dug out the threads from his youth and given them a new purpose. Geek-chic glasses, double denim, sirens blaring and spotlights tracking the models, made the production feel like something out of a 70s police drama. Our 80s dreams came true with the abundance of power suits in the collection, stuffed with shoulder pads of course. The individuality of pieces has become Gucci’s signature. Unlike the majority of fashion brands who pine for cohesiveness throughout their collections. As the models lined up on the stage, after gracing the theatre’s aisles, the kaleidoscope of silhouettes, styles, and colours could be truly appreciated. From a casual double-breasted tan jacket to a two-piece suit with the Gucci logo embellished in sequins complete with teal velvet lapels and cuffs. The possibilities for Michele’s future for Gucci seemed endless.

 

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Despite the lack of severed heads (apart from the Mickey Mouse handbags) or miniature dragons, Gucci continued to provide a variety of weird and wonderful accessories and looks. Michele’s inspiration drawn from theatre transpired into a fantasy world, where thinking inside the box was evidently not an option. Elements such as a living cockatoo that rested on the shoulder of one of the models added to this concept of fantasy, which is becoming a significant aspect of Michele’s artistic direction, as we saw in his AW18 collection. The show also seemed to have a country and western influence that paid tribute to country singer Dolly Parton. One of the models wore a denim jacket with Parton’s portrait painted on the back and another wore a graphic pink sweatshirt with her face in an orange heart on it, with a white cowboy hat to top it off.

 

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The collection explores and pushes the boundaries of society’s pre-existing ideas of sexuality. Pieces like denim chaps and a bodysuit that plunged to the navel perhaps left no room for the imagination but gave the collection a sense of sensuality. However, Michele ensured the revealing outfits were sported by the male models as opposed to the females, which flouts the standard conventions for fashion. Male models wore ensembles such as a low cut purple leotard, underneath a tailored checked suit, topped off with a fringed diamond necklace and an oversized plaid shirt with cherry red leather hot pants. Whilst female models wore more loose fitting pieces like an oversized velvet tracksuit or a high neck, long sleeved, leopard print maxi dress.

 

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The runway show felt at home within the walls of Le Palace as if it were a theatre production itself. "I wanted to change the rules of traditional theatre”, says Michele and change the rules, he did. The lighting, music and even an interlude performance from the legendary Jane Birkin, all played a significant role in sharing Michele’s fantasy with the audience. Michele’s collection simply dazzled, providing a sense of escapism whilst watching the opulent pieces line up on stage. Gucci has, once again, created a masterpiece. A vibrantly brilliant dreamland where even pigs can fly, according to the badges worn.