This morning, without catwalks or hype, Gucci unveiled “La Famiglia”, the first collection created by Demna Gvasalia. How? With a photo lookbook signed by Catherine Opie and published on the brand’s Instagram profile. A new visual vocabulary that arrives, surprisingly, a few days before the start of Milan Fashion Week (scheduled from September 23 to 29). But what was presented isn’t just a collection: it’t a story. A mosaic of archetypes that embody “Gucciness”. That brash, elegant, contradictory attitude that has made the brand an icon. Some early answers are starting to come in: The problem isn’t what Gucci is, but how it tells its story today.
A new vocabulary
Demna doesn’t erase but rather layers. “La Famiglia” is populated by characters that look like something out of a fashion essay. The Archetype is a monogrammed trunk that pays homage to its origins, those of Guccio Gucci. Then it follows, in a flurry, a series of characters that in the designer’s idea belong to the brand’s universe. There is L’Incazzata, in fiery ’60s red, Flora in a wide dress that recalls one of the house’s iconic motifs.
There is The Nerd, in a leather jacket and over jeans. The Bad and lethal in a total leather outfit. Miss Aperitif lives for pleasure, The Influencer for the algorithm. La Contessa, La Mecenate, La Sciura and La Principessa embody Italian elegance, while The Figo and Principino bring a new idea of menswear. Each figure is a point of view, a way of being Gucci. There is no single identity, but an infinite range of possibilities.
Future vision
It would seem that Gucci’s desire to tell stories has returned. “I am not yet defining my vision for Gucci, but the ground on which I am building it. I want to reset the perception of the brand through my reinterpretation”, the designer stressed to WWD. The collection is an exercise in “studied carelessness”, as the fashion house defines it, referring to that attitude of detachment embodied by the new Gucci family. But it is also a journey into the brand’s DNA. The bamboo and horsebit motifs, for example, return but reformulated. The GG Monogram is worn from head to toe. Demna doesn’t impose, it proposes.
It’s not a total reset, as it doesn’t disown Tom Ford, Frida Giannini, Alessandro Michele or Sabato De Sarno, but summons them all. Waiting for the film with which Demna will in effect unveil the collection. Which, as already anticipated, will remain in ten selected stores from September 25 to October 12. While waiting to see it, today we found out that Gucci can be a nerd, a “sciura” (wealthy elderly woman), an heiress, a good guy. It’s anyone who has something to say. And now, it again has a story to identify with.
Photos from Gucci
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