These days, you’re just as likely to hear Gucci as you’ll see Gucci. Whether it’s Amy Winehouse crooning about “your Gucci bag crew” or Lil Pump’s repetitive refrain “Gucci gang”, the Italian luxury house has infiltrated pop culture to the point where it represents far more than the leather travel goods company it was founded as in 1921. But Gucci’s relationship with music is nothing new. Since 1921, the word “Gucci” has appeared 22,705 times in various songs, according to Musixmatch.
Which is why Creative Director Alessandro Michele, a person acutely aware of the place Gucci has within the zeitgeist, sought to celebrate that synergy for his centennial collection, which marks the brand’s 100-year anniversary.
First unveiled as part of the Aria runway show – in which Michele transformed Gucci into his very own “hacking lab” – each piece in the centennial collection features the exclusive Gucci 100 logo, classic monogram, or embroidered Gucci-themed song lyrics. Think: kaleidoscopic jumpers emblazoned with “music is mine, Gucci seat reclined”, strong tailoring and brightly coloured canvas bags that serve both practical and aesthetic purposes.
“The centennial, for me, represents an opportunity to bear witness to Gucci’s eternal vitality that year after year, is reborn,” Michele explained. “I recognised the manifestation of its youth in its having intercepted and traversed, for 100 years now, popular culture in all its forms. Above all, in music: the only medium, aside from fashion, more reactive to the times that mutate and mark the new”.
The collection pays tribute to a multitude of musical eras – ranging from Ella Fitzgerald to Fela Kuti, and right up until Ice Cube in the 90s. In the video, the models serve as stand-ins for these artists, recreating a live musical experience, dressed in head-to-toe Gucci. The overall effect reinforces the inextricable connection between the house and music.
“If I were to depict Gucci, for me it would be an eternal teenager who hangs out at places where music is heard and played,” says Michele. “It isn’t a revisionist attempt to rummage through the past: if anything, mine is a ‘reverse’ revisionism of the House’s history, stitched back together by a piercing note, a melody, a refrain”.
Discover the Gucci 100 collection here.
Discover the Gucci Aria collection here.
Model wears Horsebit 1955 small bag, Single Breasted velvet jacket, Mid-Heel Slingback with Horsebit
Model wears Gucci 100 wool sweater, 2015 Re-Edition mohair wool pant
Model wears Gucci 100 Cotton T-Shirt, Mid-Heel Slingback with Horsebit
Model wears Gucci 100 Tapestry Jacket, Tapestry Jacquard Pant, Horsebit 1955 Mini Bag
Model wears GG Embroidered Tulle Spaghetti Strap Bra, Black Strass Embroidered Silk Faille Bustier (available in store soon).
Model wears Ivory Multicolour Printed Silk Faille Long Sleeve Chemise Dress, Mid-Heel Slingback with Horsebit (available in store soon).
Model wears Black Scoop Neck Long Sleeve Knit, Dusty Pink Strass Embroidered Silk Faille Bustier, Black Shiny Calfskin Pants (available in store soon).
Model wears Wave Lace Deep V-Neck Midi Dress (available in store soon).
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