He previously worked as a senior accessories designer at Fendi and studied at the Accademia di Costume e di Moda in Rome. De Sarno has previously worked for Prada, Dolce & Gabbana and Valentino, where he . Because getting a closer look at Gucci is akin to getting the long view of the fashion industry itself. Marco Bizzarri, the C.E.O., stays in Milan. How Gucci creative director Alessandro Michele got his job - Quartz A global Luxury group, Kering manages the development of a series of renowned Houses in Fashion, Leather Goods and Jewelry : Gucci, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen, Brioni, Boucheron, Pomellato, DoDo, Qeelin, as well as Kering Eyewear. I wish him a great next chapter in his creative journey., Alessandro Michele said: There are times when paths part ways because of the different perspectives each one of us may have. Italian fashion house Gucci said Wednesday it appointed Alessandro Michele as its new creative director, replacing longtime designer chief Frida Giannini, in a . Dressed simply in jeans, a white T-shirt, and Gucci tasseled loafers, Michele looks more like Chris Robinson on sabbatical in a Venetian court than a man tapped to lead a $3.9-billion-a-year fashion empire. Toronto Star articles, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com, Conversations are opinions of our readers and are subject to the, Alessandro Michele poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'Don't Worry Darling' during the 79th edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, Monday, Sept. 5, 2022. In 2017, when Gucci was accused of appropriating the work of Dapper Dan the designer of bespoke luxury garments to Harlems elite and hip-hops finest, who had himself appropriated Guccis trademarks for his own purposes in the 1980s the brand forged a partnership with him. Michele works on his own schedule. Gucci Confirms Exit of Creative Director Alessandro Michele - WWD MILAN, ITALY - FEBRUARY 25: Designer Alessandro Michele acknowledges the applause of the audience after the Gucci show during the Milan Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2015 on February 25, 2015 in Milan, Italy. Italian designer Alessandro Michele, center, will be responsible for Guccis collections and its global image. One of my favorites is a Georgian ring. My dad always said, Please, let me take a picture of you. But I didnt like it. The designer speaks in asides. It all just feels so right. "Men now adays really don't dress up anymore. And I always say yes. So I had the perception that I had to put something that I can match with this beauty. For his first women's show a month later, he put the girls in a mix of quirky and supremely executed granny clothing, completely swept free of high-octane sexuality. 2023 SheMedia, LLC. He is bearded and shorn in biblical proportions, and his arms and neck jingle with a swarm of gold clock-key charms, Victorian chains, and colorful beaded bracelets dangling with the baby teeth of his nephews. When I have to work alone, to read, to design, or look at books, I stay at my desk. The ceiling is ascribed to an acolyte of Raphael. The Black community and the Latinx community would embrace what he was doing and remix it., Over time, the brand name has entered the lexicon to indicate a specific iteration of cool. Alessandro Michele was announced as Gucci's new creative director in January 2015. They loved American people. Guccis history is wondrously democratic and marvelously nouveau riche. In 2014, he was named creative director of the Richard Ginori porcelain brand, owned by Gucci. Its strange because now, its really part of my job. The countrys main fashion hub is there; its where retailers come to stock their shelves, and its where Bizzarris office is located. How designer Alessandro Michele became fashion's new Renaissance man. Were both masked because despite vaccination requirements, Gucci is taking every precaution, especially with its creative capital. Alessandro Michele is stepping down as Gucci's creative director, the company announced Wednesday. Everything and everyone collide: skateboarders, boardroom animals, rappers, glamour pusses and logo hounds. Meanwhile at his first menswear show, men came down the runway in ruffled blouses (and women models were even interspersed into the lineup). 1. Micheles first Gucci collection was menswear completed in barely five days. They should [feel] the need to go into the Gucci shop, he said. This is just creative offices. May you always live by your passions, propelled by the wind of freedom.. When I went to L.A. many years ago, maybe 20 years ago, I thought it was such an unfashionable city. Via @billboard. He wears fingers full of signet rings, quirky T-shirts that look as though theyve been pulled from the twofer bin at a vintage shop, silken dressing robes that could have been borrowed from Jean Harlows costume closet, dad jeans, sun hats, elegant blouses and, of course, Gucci loafers. Just crazy times. He had the talent and the follow-through to back up his words, but his initial conversation with Bizzarri wasnt a job interview. But it has been under some scrutiny recently after underperforming rivals. Distribution and use of this material are governed by In the luxury fashion ecosystem, Gucci manages to be both a commercial behemoth and a creative juggernaut. And the other part of L.A. that I love is the old Hollywood, the idea of beauty and the invention of beauty, he says. French brands, they really reflect the monarchy in a way. MILAN Gucci and parent company Kering on Wednesday evening said Alessandro Michele would be exiting the brand, relinquishing his role as creative director. I mean, I quite like him. MILAN Alessandro Michele is leaving his role as creative director of Gucci, the fashion house announced Wednesday, bringing an end to an eight-year tenure that sharply redefined . You can have a kind of worldwide impact.. November 23 rd, 2022 - Gucci today announces that Alessandro Michele is stepping down as Creative Director of Gucci.Alessandro Michele has been at the creative helm of the House since January 21 st, 2015, and has played a fundamental part in making the brand what it is today through his groundbreaking creativity, while staying true to the renowned codes of the House. By subscribing, I agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. And: this place. But it has been under some scrutiny recently after underperforming rivals. Gucci's new creative director, the unknown Alessandro Michele, is a lot like the woman he champions: daring, curiously compellingand with a streak of mystery and eccentricity. Get U-T Business in your inbox on Mondays. Michele offered a vision that was quieter, more romantic and less chaotic than the one he has long championed. Bug-inspired embellishments? It tugs at the culture with both creative energy and financial might. He is not the discreet, behind-the-scenes puppet master of style. So I said, it could be nice for my books to have a turtle. The beauty is hidden and shared between friends and family.". In its latest project, called Vault, prime archival pieces are dusted off for online sale a venture that is mostly an exercise in frustration as Vault objects sell out in about a nanosecond. A room at the archives features pieces that have been worn on the red carpet or to other events by celebrities. But in Michele, he found a man overflowing with creativity, one who was itching for something new and who had a personality with which he was simpatico. I love perfumes. Im usually working with a lot of people. So I came to Florence during a blissful lull in these tumultuous times to talk to Michele. Michele cited different perspectives as the reason for his departure, without elaborating. Michele cited different perspectives as the reason for his departure, without elaborating. ", Michele's own knowledge of fashion history is scholarly. Today an extraordinary journey ends for me, lasting more than 20 years, within a company to which I have tirelessly dedicated all my love and creative passion, he said. This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. Aria made me curious to know more about what Michele was thinking. Gucci Confirms Alessandro Michele as Creative Director - WWD And they can decorate the way you talk. .css-16c7pto-SnippetSignInLink{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;cursor:pointer;}Sign In, Copyright 2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The company eventually opened a store in New York City, an expansion led by Guccios son Aldo. The first model down that runway in January 2015 was a flaxen-haired young man in a red pussy-bow blouse with his fingers adorned with rings. They represent the arc of Guccis story thus far. Michele is leaving his role as creative director of the Gucci, the fashion house announced Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2022 bringing an end to an eight-year tenure that sharply redefined Gucci's codes . The design team visits regularly to pay its respects and draw inspiration. The environment was very inspiring. Together with them I have wished, dreamed, imagined. Stephanie Gengotti for The New York Times By Elizabeth Paton and Vanessa Friedman Nov. 23, 2022 In the largest creative shake-up of a fashion brand since the Covid-19 pandemic, Gucci. (Maria Valentino for The Washington Post), A velvet tuxedo, from the brands fall 1996 collection by Tom Ford. Jared Leto has been a frequent front-row guest at Gucci shows during Micheles tenure, for a time adopting the same straight long hair and beard sported by the Gucci designer. (Maria Valentino for The Washington Post). (Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images). [Most recently], Armani and Yves Saint Laurent did. Alessandro Michelehas been at the creative helm of the House since January 21st, 2015,and has played a fundamental part in making the brand what it is today through his groundbreaking creativity, while staying true to the renowned codes of the House. Guccis new approach to fashion is just different enough that it stands out. Gucci announces Sabato de Sarno as its new creative director Hes taking the adcampaigns in a cooler direction, too. In photographs, his clothes can look stodgy were it not for the quirky individuality and confidence of the models who wear them. Michele is really an accessories designer at heart. I would like to thank him for his 20 years of commitment to Gucci and for his vision,devotion,and unconditional love for this unique House during his tenure as Creative Director., Franois-Henri Pinault, Chairman & CEO ofKering, said: The road that Gucci and Alessandro walked together over the past years is unique and will remain as an outstanding moment in the history of the House. When they look at me with all these kinds of jewels, they become a little bit nervous. FASHION EDITOR: Elissa Santisi. Gucci president and chief executive officer Marco Bizzarri thus described the elevation of Alessandro Michele to the post of creative director, the appointment confirmed by WWD on Wednesday. Gucci delighted in hip-hop while many luxury brands were squeamish at the thought of all those new Black and Brown customers. It is a blue sky July afternoon in Florence a day that exudes optimism, possibility and relief. The first time I had to go out after the first collection in Milan, I was shocked. Theres also a restaurant of significant ambition that is overseen by a Michelin-starred chef and where one can order a 30 euro tortellini in cream sauce that is so perfectly prepared it will make you take the Lords name in vain. Does this mean all the jewelry you wear becomes like your talismans? Nov 24 2022 3:45 pm. A crystal chandelier the size of a Fiat 500 hangs from the center of a meeting rooms coffered, painted ceiling. You must love in a very deep way to be in a relationship. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP, File), Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Iowa auditor says new law will restrict his offices access to information, As if air travel isnt hard enough, 5G wireless signals could disrupt flights starting this weekend, SAG-AFTRA agrees to extend negotiations with studios, averting a strike for now, Passengers were stuck because United Airlines canceled their flights. Alessandro Michele has stepped down as Gucci's creative director after almost eight years, a period that saw him help revive and transform the Italian label's fortunes. But in Rome its very usual if someone meets you on the street, to talk. They werent connected to nobility at all. Other brands rise above it or look at celebrity as something they have to deal with, Wilbekin says. Since he first joined Gucci in 2002, Michele has had a knack . Micheles partnerships with Hollywood elite and VIPs were often rooted in friendships. Bizzarri was hunting for design-room intel, and Michele was a long-timer at Gucci whod risen through the ranks. Italian fashion house Gucci said Wednesday it appointed Alessandro Michele as its new creative director, replacing longtime designer chief Frida Giannini, in a move aimed at ending a long creative drift marked recently by sales declines. Bizzarris style is as austere as Micheles is sumptuous. Man of the house. It weaves through a city that has the uncrowded postcard gloss of an earlier, less frenetic era. He wanted to know what was happening on the street, to understand how the community was reacting to his work and what they were wearing. "That's not the way I am; it's not part of my character." Tom Ford hired him, and hed stayed on to work with Fords successor, Frida Giannini. His home is just off Piazza Navona, the iconic square dominated by Berninis massive Fountain of the Four Rivers. Gucci said the in-house design team would take over the collections until a new creative director is named. He wears his dark brown hair below his shoulders, sometimes braiding it into pigtails. All Rights Reserved. ", Michele describes his aesthetic as "a hippie Renaissance idea of fashion." NCA Hosts Anti-Bullying Lunch With Balenciaga. He is a memento mori, a David LaChapelle photograph, the Sistine Chapel, a jazz riff, a rap video. When a social media firestorm erupted over a sweater that recalled blackface, Gucci responded with a raft of initiatives aimed at elevating the voices of people of color. Men in pussy-bow blouses is hot. Gucci celebrates the mutability of gender even as some folks wring their hands over who gets to use which bathroom as if the answer were a matter of national security. Like every industry, fashion has had to carve out a path forward after the pandemic shutdown. Hed been steadfast for almost 13 years. But while Michele acknowledges that sex will always be "very important" to Gucci, he would like to construct a new female allure that is more personal. Though he flows like a powerful river when he's speaking one on one, Michele finds the public aspect of his new job to be a source of consternation. "She's like one of those primordial sculptures of fertility, like the Venus of Willendorf." Pink and red chevron mink coats? "He has such a sense of wonder and creativity," adds Welch. Alessandro Michele - Wikipedia Gucci Names Alessandro Michele as New Creative Chief - WSJ [1] Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. So I wanted something big for all the things that we need to work. They were really just designing in a very free way, Michele says. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8, Continue reading your article witha WSJ subscription, Already a subscriber? The population was locked down and allowed outside only for essential errands. I have to say that I was in this amazing little studio in the center of Rome, in this room with this beautiful fireplace, with this beautiful painted ceiling and full of books. In his hands. This is the area of the Rome that is for the bankers. Shoes and bags are his thingso expect greatness. The setting is as magnificent as one might imagine a Florentine palazzo to be. ", Apart from this, however, Michele's calm coolness is eerie. Nyongos stylist,Micaela Erlanger, gushed to the New York Times about Micheles role in creating theknockout dresses saying:This year, Lupita and I decided to work with Gucci, whose new creative director, Alessandro Michele, designed two beautiful gowns for her. Its like the brand is keeping the soul of now, Michele says. Today an extraordinary journey ends for me, lasting more than twenty years, within a company to which I have tirelessly dedicated all my love and creative passion. He hadnt been named creative director yet. "The fact that it has been perceived well by the press and that people were waiting for something big to shake things up," he ventures, "well, I just feel like it was kind of written in the stars.". The Gucci, Alessandro Michele Break-Up - WWD [Now] from a creative standpoint, its time to give a little bit of push in terms of modernity to make Gucci relevant again in the fashion world, Bizzarri told Womens Wear Daily following Micheles appointment. The company regularly hosts the work of newer designers in shops and online, bringing attention to lesser known and more diverse names. In the fourth episode of Season 3 of our series that takes you behind the doors of the fashion world, Alessandro Michele, the creative director of Gucci, reveals why he thrives on . So when I read that journalists were giving me credit for it, I laughed because these people certainly do not know much about fashion history! On November 23, the designer announced that he would be leaving the Maison where he's spent the last 20 years of his career. I never say no. In this respect, Michele freely discusses designers he admires, such as Jonathan Anderson, Alessandro Dell'Acqua, and Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli of Valentino. Gucci is one of the few brands that actually made logistical shifts. Bracelets and rings, Michele's own. For his last runway collection, unveiled in September, Michele constructed a parallel universe of side-by-side shows separated by a wall that when lifted revealed twins in identical looks in synchronic stride. I have to do the face of the company. Gucci, especially under Tom Ford, really embraced hip-hop and hip-hop culture. Everything is an inspiration.. Stretching over 17 acres, the grounds feature several historic properties belonging to two branches of the blue-blooded Torrigiani family, including a soaring neo-Gothic tower, the famous 16th-century Villa Torrigiani (where the Marchese Giovanni Battista Giorgini presented Italy's very first couture show, in 1951), and a greenhouse that hosts biannual private sales of antiques and vintage objects. Gucci Official Site United States. The French group Kering, which owns Gucci among other luxury brands, announced his departure on. Alessandro Michele | BoF 500 | The People Shaping the Global Fashion "[The postshow bow] feels almost like I'm going off to my own execution," he says with a laugh. The company is celebrating its 100th anniversary, and its founding familys ambition and treachery are the subject of the Ridley Scott film House of Gucci, which opens this month and stars Lady Gaga and Adam Driver. It was bonded to the belief that hoi polloi could take charge of their story. "Fashion is a religion in one sense," he says. By COLLEEN BARRY January 28, 2023. Florence is where it all began for Gucci, where it was founded in 1921. I wanted to know where fashion was headed. I spend a lot of time in Paris, in Milan and in New York, and Rome is a little bit different. After seven years at the helm of Gucci, Alessandro Michele is officially stepping down as creative director. And food. And once again the industry is manufacturing loads and loads of stuff. By Rebecca Mead September 12, 2016 Michele in his office, next to a brocaded chair that. They met us in Cannes so we could fine-tune the details and fit each gown with precision.. "Why should I try redoing something that he did perfectly?" "I didn't invent this. Italians are once again tourists in their own land. Alessandro Michele is leaving his role as creative director of the Gucci, the fashion house announced Wednesday, bringing an end to an eight-year tenure that sharply redefined Gucci's codes with . And prefaced by a lengthy manifesto posted to Instagram soon after the pandemic began, Michele unhitched the company from the tyranny of an exhausting fashion schedule that the entire industry hated even though it was of its own making. You cant just stay for a while and then leave., For our tte--tte, Michele had come to Florence from his design studio in Rome, where he works in his version of Fendis beautiful mess. One I made by myself. Announcing the. Theres even a jewel box of a room dedicated to the one-of-a-kind fairy-tale ensembles worn by celebrities such as Florence Welch. Is there a special pencil or pen that you use? Before I speak to Michele, I want to take a tour a way of reminding myself of Guccis past so that I can better understand why it seems so perfectly situated in the present. Each glittering gown or bedazzled cloak hangs on a dress form that stands upright in its own little pink padded coffin. Its something that can give me more energy in terms of freedom. Michele asks. The city is open. Michele and Gucci are indeed shaping up to be fashion's new It couple. He even cops to having recently obsessively hunted down a pair of Valentino sandals for himself. Still, when Bizzarri named Michele to the top job a few days later, the near unanimous reaction from the fashion industry was, Who?, I was trying to put on the catwalk, you know, how its beautiful to be exactly who you want to be. Visually, they are opposites. Eight months ago, Michele was plucked from his relatively anonymous job heading up leather goods and shoes for Gucci and inserted into the gargantuan and very public role of creative director . There is something in Rome, incredible, like in a Fellini movie. Italy was the first Western country to feel the brunt of the coronavirus pandemic. Gucci angers and shocks and seduces. Its a place where the rules are completely broken, Michele says.
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