Still reeling from the abrupt announcement several months prior that creative majordomo Alessandro Michele would be stepping down, this month Gucci fans were treated to the Italian fashion houseโs first runway show in a post-Michele world โ one which, according to brand executives, embodied a kind of improvisation between the โmulti-faceted creatives and craftsmen who inhabit [the brand]โ.
Initially, fashion pundits had speculated that the proposed โimprovisationโ Gucciโs management were eyeing involved onboarding a new up-and-coming designer for a single season โ a nascent strategy that is already being adopted by competitor Louis Vuitton, who have tapped American designer Colm Dillane (KidSuper) to design their own Fall 2023 menโs show.
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But back to Milano. Considering the timing, itโs inevitable Michele would have had at least partial input on a number of the pieces that were sent down the runway earlier this January; and, as astute observers have pointed out, the first half of the Fall 2023 menโs presentation feels akin to a coda of his final days as creative head honcho at Gucci.
Early on, many of the silhouettes โ ostensibly the work of Gucciโs own in-house designers โ bore the unmistakable signature of Micheleโs billowing, โgrandmaโs atticโ aesthetic. Yet the way in which these outfits โ largely consisting of trousers, a tee and jacket โ came together suggested a minimalist approach that might nod toward a newly austere direction at Gucci.
Other tributes to the brands former creative dictator abounded: including a handful of floor-length skirts cut right down the middle (evoking Micheleโs long-running fascination with clothes that are somehow both masc and femme); and the fur-lined โPrincetownโ slipper โ one of the earliest signature items to put Gucci on its current course of widespread commercial appeal.
What followed in the showโs second half was a coterie of looks decidedly lighter on jackets and big, flared trousers โ the real improvisational heart of Gucciโs Fall menswear. Less cohesive than the tailoring-heavy ensembles that preceded it, this part of the first Michele-free show was โ for better or worse โ still filled with individual pieces that many would consider a blast to wear.
A loosygoosy boiler suit emblazoned with the Houseโs iconic โdouble Gโ or vests in puffed up pastels which suggest the brandโs existing excursions into apparel aprรจsโski โ these donโt come away feeling like part of a much grander design, but thereโs no denying theyโll sell well once they hit the boutique floor. For now, thatโs good enough.
