Continuing the trend of Cruise shows being staged in exotic locales (this includes Singapore, mind you — our fair isle was the venue for the Chanel Cruise 2014 show in 2013), Gucci showcased its latest inter-season fashion showcase at London’s Westminster Abbey on Thursday. This is the first time a fashion show has been staged within the 926-year-old Gothic church, and follows recent Cruise shows held in locations like Rio de Janeiro (Louis Vuitton) and Cuba (Chanel).
The collection saw Gucci creative director Alessandro Michele once again acing what he does best: Using liberal amounts of embellishments to create ensembles that, coupled with spot-on styling, look edgy and fresh rather than fussy or frumpy. A few men’s looks were interspersed with the women’s styles: Next year, of course, the brand will merge its men’s and women’s collections into a unified presentation.
This time round, though, there were also plenty of nods to English style (“this culture is an unbelievable treasure”, Michele enthused to The Guardian newspaper): The Italian designer flew the Union Jack high, using the UK flag as the motif for sweaters and shoes. (We especially liked the shoes paired with sports socks ringed with Italian/Gucci colours; talk about solid bilateral ties.)
There were also plenty of colourful plaids (a suit, a kilt, a bustier dress), some reminiscent of the style of English punk fashion doyen, Vivienne Westwood. They were mixed with other prints in an irreverent style that is as quintessentially English as it is Michele’s Gucci.
Beyond its unprecedented setting, the show continues to affirm Michele as one of the most interesting designers to watch today. On another note, it certainly won’t be the last fashion showcase to push the unusual-venue envelope, even as backlash occurs for Chanel (there has been criticism about “the onslaught of big-money pop culture” in Cuba) and Louis Vuitton: The latter’s Ipanema boutique was robbed days after its Cruise show in Rio de Janeiro.