Alessandro Michele presented Gucci’s Spring/Summer 2022 collection on a transformed Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles. At play were ideas of Greek mythology, where gods and goddesses stepped down from Mount Olympus to interact with and influence the Athenian people. Michele’s association between Greek divinity and Hollywood celebrity, a kind of glamour that is beyond reach and yet so personal, was on display as stars not only watched, but walked in the show. Those “friends of Gucci” that modeled the collection included Macaulay Culkin, Phoebe Bridgers, Jodie Turner-Smith, St. Vincent, and Jared Leto, who will also star in Ridley Scott’s upcoming film House of Gucci starring Lady Gaga and Adam Driver.
Like gods and goddesses, celebrities tend to embody some perceived set of values, signature qualities that set them apart, and with that, the power of an emboldened spirit to wear elevated clothes, separating them from the everyday wearer. The collection was introduced with a turquoise fur collar, an oversized pink silk suit, a boxy blazer dress with a piped bustier clasped around it, and a sheer lace gown that swept the runway with red velvet trim.
Gucci’s decadence not only existed in the colors, textures, and silhouettes of the designs but in the very nerve to live in and create for one’s imagination. Turner-Smith wore a red feather overcoat with chevron stripes and a green collar around her neck with no shred or hope of functionality. The athleisure phenomenon was represented with ultra-fitted trousers holstered at the foot and a nude-colored tube top punctuated with black leather gloves. Black leggings accented with neon trimming were worn with a plaid blazer and waistcoat. An updated portrait of a cowboy was achieved with mismatched plaid trousers and plaid blazer, snakeskin loafers, and tortoiseshell aviator glasses topped off with a refined cowboy hat. Jared Leto donned a gray checked blazer with nothing underneath and white denim trousers with zippers at the ankles and lacing up the front of the legs. Certain standout pieces were reminiscent of old Hollywood glamour, including a silver metallic asymmetrical gown with a nude lace bustier layered underneath.
Michele’s mother would tell him about how “Los Angeles shines in its own magic.” And that’s what he created: a paradise lost in a timeless freedom where everything is possible and miracles exist every day.
