November 15, 2021: Gucci recently presented the collection, Gucci Love Parade, designed by Alessandro Michele, by staging a fashion show on the iconic Hollywood boulevard in Los Angeles. The show had an eclectic cast featuring Jeremy Pope, Steve Lacy, Jared Leto, Macaulay Culkin, Hayden Pedigo, Phoebe Bridgers, Janaya Khan, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Grace Johnson, Jodie Turner-Smith, St. Vincent and Miranda July.
An event presented as ‘Nine Letters Dripping with Desire’, it is presented with a personal note from Mr. Michele himself. It talks about his inspiration, the stories he remembers from when his mum worked in the film industry as an assistant in a production company- the details and the sparkles, stories about that dream factory.
With the alabaster paleness of Marilyn Monroe, and her diaphanous voice, the black satin gloves of Rita Hayworth and Veronica Lake’s velvet hair, the captivating allure of Rock Hudson and the dizzying transformative power of Kim Novak- all of it felt like a fairytale.
Talking about his yesteryears, he writes that he felt the need to be able to breathe, when they lived in a squat in the outskirts of Rome; and these subversive tales helped him in those gray times, becoming his escape and desertion. ‘HOLLYWOOD’ seemed like a bright and shiny star to him, nine letters brimming with desire.
Lending the perfect support to his unencumbered love for the classical world, the boulevard of stars is a symbol of the Greek temple populated by pagan divinities that Hollywood is. It is only here that actors and actresses are acknowledged as the heroes of the myth: hybrid creatures with the power to hold divine transcendence and mortal existence at the same time, both the imaginary and the real.
The idols of a new contemporary cosmogony, they embody a persistence of the sacred. Beyond reach, but yet so human, Aphrodite, Theseus, Pandora and Medusa still live in Hollywood’s Olympus.
From Cleopatrian gowns to lacy nightgowns, the collection is all shimmering and sparkling – just the way Mr. Michele spun his tales of Hollywood. From gold to green, all shades find a place in Gucci’s collection. From oversized faux fur outers to overwhelming tuxedos and tiny corsets, the collection is all encompassing.
A collection of costumes, literally, this after-party is replete with fun, frolic and drama.
Mr. Michele signs off recounting his Mum’s stories which always said that Los Angeles shines in its own magic, which is timeless; it’s a place that brushes the divinities, becoming a mythology of the possible.
