Thursday 22 September 2016

Gucci Spring/Summer 2017 Womenswear | Milan Fashion Week

A collection of gender fluidity pieces mixed with pop culture and Renaissance. Gucci's perpetual essence is captured within their latest collection in Milan. The brand presented elevated day-and-evening wear yesterday which really enthralled fashions elite.

Only the delicately piercing sound of a cricket could be heard at the Gucci Spring/Summer 2017 fashion show, before a hauntingly beautiful violin filled the pitched-black room with conspicuous sounds. Sounds that made the littlest of hairs on the back of your neck stand to a strong halt in tension. Those sounds started and completed the show...

The scene was set for a spine-chilling thriller movie, the ones you watched when you were a kid, and would ultimately end up sleeping in your parents bedroom due to harrowing nightmares. Fashion bigwigs filled the front row as the room, filled with 250,000 mirrored sequins, dramatically flashed lights for a matter of seconds, before transforming the room into a deep, plush-pink space. Which resulted in a beautiful fashion masterpiece for Gucci's SS17 - a step further from his all green men's catwalk show.

The models walked ghostly down the Gucci striped catwalk, slowly; as if like zombies, in their towering Gucci styled wedges. Juxtapose this against the fast-paced, theatrical Florence & The Machine music, this created a chilling vibe for the show.

Alessandro Michele, Gucci's creative director, keen to once again deliver another iconic moment for Gucci, designed a masterpiece, with a theatrical delight that could win an Oscar. His trendsetting and luxuriously-unique looks have gone from strength-to-strength each season, with his latest offering possibly being the designers culmination of his career so far.

The collection was overloaded with references to the Renaissance, with  evening dresses with a giant embroidered heart, pierced with a sword and the numerals "XXV" inside it. As well as a radical and witty black, silk satin, floor length evening gown, with gold sequinned, pineapple shaped sleeves. The dress, which caught the attention of many, had two symmetrical sequinned parrots embroiled into the dress with feathers adding to the beauty. The animal theme was very prominent within the show. A citrus orange coat with two symmetrical zebras also made a bold and modern statement.

As well as these references, Alessandro's vision to intertwine both men's and female fashion was clearly seen within this collection. The designer has been praised for his gender fluidity garments in his previous collections and he's certainly carrying on this tradition. Women in trouser suits and a waist coat, as well as dresses, paired bravely with trousers. Then the men walked alongside the women in a pale, macaroon-pink trench coat with soft-yellow flowers embossed on it. As well as Alessandro's signature gold ribbon, made famous from his previous women's collection, placed firmly on a hot pink male jumper.

Each look was meticulously styled, with even the last minuscule sequin being delicately placed to create a scintillating showpiece. Serpents, statement-making coats, western ruffles and that pineapple sleeved evening dress were snapped instantly on smartphones by the fashions front row, ready for an Instagram upload to impress.

The deepest shades of red, purple and gold were seen heavily within the collection. Many of the outfits each had a shiny red ribbon wrapped carefully, to top the look - you could say the cherry on top of the deliciously scrumptious cake.

The bigger the better when it came to accessories for the dramatic show. Models were adorned by exquisitely oversized accessories. Oversized sunglasses, oversized hats, oversized earrings, and a oversized binocular necklace. But the oversized accessories didn't do anything but add to the beauty of each look.

Gucci has certainly cemented its luxurious crown firmly back on top of its head, as the hottest show in Milan fashion week since Alessandro's revival of the iconic Italian brand. The latest collection did not disappoint, and with the theatricality even Galliano would envy, the designer is certainly taking Gucci to a whole new fashion level.