GUCCI REJUVENATED

Words by Anna Mac

Gucci: a brand known by all, bootlegged by many and purchased by few who can afford the authentic designs. Gucci is one of the most influential brands in the world, and has revolutionised the fashion industry, men’s fashion in particular. The fashion house is currently in its prime, thanks to creative director Alessandro Michele, who gave it a fresh makeover when he was appointed creative director in 2015. His change of perspective of men’s fashion catapulted Gucci into the limelight more so than ever, so what was Gucci like before the Michele era?

Legendary fashion designer and filmmaker Tom Ford became creative director of Gucci in 1994, a time when fashion was  provocative and daring, with heroin chic at the forefront of style. Think skinny models in sheer materials, animal print everywhere, low rise bottoms featuring hip bones and dark circles under eyes. Ford incorporated some of these elements in his collections early on, mixing them with 70s era styles by using velvet and satin, but what did Tom Ford use the most to sell his clothes? Sex. 

If you think back to the early 2000s, the internet had just encountered the dot com boom, and with this, came internet porn. Suddenly the world had access to pornographic content at the click of a button, albeit after a long dial-up process and major bandwidth usage. Although pornography was not a new phenomenon by any means, the entertainment industry took note of this revolution and ran with it to market their products to consumers. Tom Ford certainly made an impact to align with this new medium of porn, and it was perhaps Gucci’s advertisements that sold sexual imagery and ideologies the most.

Ford was known for being an “equal objectifier”, stating "I've been criticized for objectifying women. But I'm an equal opportunity objectifier — I'm just as happy to objectify men”. This was deemed to be true, as his notorious NSFW ad campaigns stood as examples. He objectified his models in the images, with male model Ludovico Benazzo cupping Georgina Grenville’s breast in his Fall/Winter 1996 campaign, which was shot by Mario Testino, a long time collaborator and who has recently faced 18 counts of sexual harassment. The following season, to advertise Gucci’s underwear, Renaud Tison was shot nude holding a pair of sheer briefs, with his naked bottom facing the camera. The fashion industry was getting used to sexual imagery from Ford, but it was his 2003 imagery that sent shock waves across the world. The ad conveys Gucci’s iconic G logo shaved into model Carmen Kass’s pubic hair, with her legs shoulder width apart and a male model on his knees parallel to the model’s crotch. The ad received countless complaints and there were protests to ban the image in the UK. Controversial he may have been, but when Ford left Gucci in 2004, it was valued at $10 billion. 

In the years between Ford and Michele, Gucci had several creative directors, most notably Frida Giannini, who maintained a sophisticated and minimalist aesthetic, a style which is now foreign under the reign of Alessandro Michele.

Since 2015, Michele has reinvented Gucci, no questions asked. Gucci have moved towards a more androgynous style, with emphasis on feminizing menswear in particular. Michele would argue that a feminine touch makes a man more masculine, which is a harsh contrast with Ford’s hyper-sexualisation of the brand. Androgynous styles such a pussy bow shirts for men, bright block colours with gender fluid tailoring and maximalist layering are a far cry from what Gucci once were.

Gucci has developed quite a cult following since Michele’s appointment. It appears that, at every award show, fashion event or even a walk in the park, an A-list celebrity is boasting the latest, often custom, designs from the creative director. From Harry Styles to Billie Eilish, celebrities are endorsing androgyny and gender fluid clothing. ASAP Rocky memorably wore a neck scarf as a Babushka on the red carpet, challenging gender norms and cultures all at once. TikTok went off with the trend of “how to look like a Gucci model?” which involved layers upon layers of bright coloured clothing starting with a turtleneck, a shirt, a vest, a blazer, vinyl trousers, a mini skirt, socks, clear heels, a head scarf and finishing off the look with bright pink lipstick.

Ford and Michele certainly brought their own visions and values to Gucci, with each being successful in its own right. Gucci’s net worth in 2020 was an estimated $17.63 billion, but the value Michele has brought to the brand is priceless. It is a revolution of androgyny, gender fluidity, and, contrastingly to Ford, modesty. Gucci now allows people of all genders, races and sexualities to express themselves in a more accepting fashion world, because if Gucci can dress like that, why can’t we? Often a change of perspective in fashion is sometimes what society needs. 

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