Alessandro Michele | Gucci and Art Archaeology

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Alessandro Michele’s seven-year tenure at the helm of Gucci may have seemed a relatively short affair, but his maximalist designs, romantic aesthetic and intellectual references have cemented him in the pantheon of fashion’s great; designing for a range of icons from Harry Styles to Vanessa Redgrave.

It all began with a conversation over a coffee in January 2015, Michele was set to leave Gucci later that year for London with his long-term partner, instead Gucci’s CEO Marco Bizzarri persuaded him to stay, and a working relationship was born out of their love for the image of Gucci and what it might become. Michele had been working for Gucci since 2002 under the creative direction of Tom Ford and later Frida Giannini.

^{Alessandro Michele (Italian, b.1972); a Gucci monogrammed canvas guitar case, c.2020, (£4,000-6,000)}

Michele’s Gucci was full to the brim with historical references and subcultural edge. He managed to fuse the house codes with a plethora of influences to create a new kind of visual language and liberation within fashion. Think if an Elizabethan had found their way into a 1970s party at the Chateau Marmont. As a child Michele’s father would often take him to art galleries and museums. When he was a teenager, he read British magazines and quickly became a devotee of London’s post-punk and New Romantic styles, frequenting Rome’s Piazza del Popolo, a popular haunt in the 80s and 90s for post-punks and New Wave kids in Italy.

Michele doesn’t see himself as a fashion designer, more of an art archaeologist or a historicist of garments. He claims that clothes have no meaning without historical context. Through his collections for Gucci, he continued to investigate how adornment and embellishment were employed over centuries, marrying together a diverse amalgamation of eras and cultures.

 ^{Alessandro Michele (Italian, b.1972); a Gucci monogrammed canvas guitar case, c.2020, (£4,000-6,000)}

The collection which this guitar case features, is from Cruise 2020, which took place in the Musei Capitolini in Rome. Models were adorned in toga like drapery over tartan suits, with reference to the red and white wool uniforms of the Roman army. There was even a purple jacquard skirt suit with the words ‘My Body, My Choice’ appliquéd to the back, which served as a protest against the proposition of the restrictive Roe v. Wade abortion laws in 2020.

Organising this show in Rome was important for Michele as he wanted it to take place in a city of freedom, glorifying its diversity. This guitar case in many ways embodies that philosophical idea of assemblage or art archaeology. Each piece that Michele designed was in some form or another a kind of artefact. This guitar case could almost appear as if it were from a bygone era, perhaps a glam rock star’s stage accessory, a harkening back to a more pluralistic time, where the image and philosophy of artists like David Bowie and Kate Bush prevailed in Britian and transgressive Italian artists like Patty Pravo and Renato Zero who would have influenced a young Michele growing up.

 ^{Alessandro Michele (Italian, b.1972); a Gucci monogrammed canvas guitar case, c.2020, (£4,000-6,000)}

Although Michele stepped down from his role at Gucci in 2022, his designs and aesthetic have caused a seismic shift in the world of fashion and beyond, pushing other designers, influencers and creatives to challenge the parameters of what styles and eras to mix, promoting inclusivity and freedom of expression. Michele has inspired us to be our very own fashion historians and craft worlds we all wish to inhabit.

Tuesday 22 October | 10am

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