All Photos Credited To Gucci
The new Balenciaga ‘hacking’ by Gucci last month, is probably the brand’s most unexpected and exciting drop we’ve seen so far this year. It is extremely rare for brands of this influence to do a collaboration collection together, but it might just be exactly what is missing from the fashion scene nowadays. It will remain a mystery how out of all brands that have a more similar aesthetic to Gucci, the house chose to collab with such an avant-garde brand with a completely different type of customer. Maybe it’s because Balenciaga and Gucci are both owned by the group Kering, or maybe it’s because Gucci needed to boost up the revenue considering the brand’s losses in Q4 2020.
Nonetheless, the timing of this drop couldn’t be more perfect: to be launched on the 100th anniversary of the house is simply genius, and Michele seized the opportunity exquisitely. To some people, however, Michele is just throwing the Gucci monogram onto silhouettes that aren’t his. Some even go as far as saying whether Balenciaga’s creative director Denma Gvasalia actually consented to Alessandro Michele’s hacking of her designs, which are very reminiscent and, in some cases, identical to his innovative reinvention of the classic Cristobal Balenciaga’s silhouettes.
The collection will certainly go down in history as one of the most peaceful alliances between two of the biggest fashion houses, which also happen to be fighting together to claim the spot within Kering as the top-selling brand.
It is perhaps the biggest moment at Gucci after Tom Ford left that we’ve seen such an exciting, exuberant and over-the-top collection. The references to Tom Ford’s period at Gucci are many, such as the memorable Gucci x Tom Ford red suit which is redesigned according to Michele’s love for the 70s, but there is also an underlying sexiness and sexual tension within the collection that only the American designer has made us dream about, so far.
Whether you think this collaboration is tacky or simply genius, Michele’s work behind the collection is undeniably that of a mastermind. The balance between extravagance, wearability and stupefaction is meticulously calculated to perfection throughout the collection, and we’re certain that it will be one of the most show-stopping moments in the history of fashion.
Whilst many only see Michele’s work as a tacky reinterpretation of Tom Ford and Demna Gvasalia, we think that this collab will be in the likes of many quintessential customers, desired by the avant-garde followers of Balenciaga, the classical Gucci customers and the more sophisticated and elegant Tom Ford’s avid clientele. The collection is a beautiful melange of references to each of the different brands’ aesthetics, embedded in unprecedented extravaganza that reaches climax in the house of Gucci, at least in terms of maximalism and logo mania, and for the first time BDSM-inspired.
Here are some of our favourite pieces that we think you’ll be obsessed with:
Words By Tommaso Donatti
