https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUej93sSeng
Over time, the Cruise season—the name given to the annual Resort collections—has turned into a high fashion game of ‘who can out-location who?’ Season after season, the biggest names in luxury whisk a select cohort of the ultra-stylish off to far-flung locales—a beach club in Monaco, a Louis I. Khan masterpiece in San Diego—to showcase what was once considered an ‘in-between’ collection against the most remarkable backdrop imaginable.
Cruise is an opportunity for brands to not only to revel in luxury, but to tell a deeper story about its values. So it’s no surprise that Gucci’s Cruise 2023 collection saw creative director Alessandro Michele stage a fantasy rave in a medieval castle in Puglia, replete with sumptuous renaissance-inspired fashion and the mythical moonlight of a rare lunar event (the super blood moon, which only happens once every few years).
Dakota Johnson, Elle Fanning, and Lana Del Rey were among the well-heeled ‘Gucci girls’ to descend on the Castel del Monte, a 13th century citadel perched regally on the top of a hill on the outskirts of Apulia. The collection was titled ‘Cosmogenie’, a phrase Michele stumbled upon while reading an essay the political philosopher Hannah Arendt wrote about her contemporary, Walter Benjamin.
“Fashion isn’t just a hieroglyph that only élites can understand,” Michele explained to press in a post-show interview. “It’s about life, it speaks a multitude of idioms, it’s like a huge choir from which nobody has to be excluded.” Michele views fashion as a melting pot of disparate references and ideas, and Cruise ‘23’s runway offering saw him seamlessly blend his signature ‘70s aesthetic (jewel-toned suiting, exaggerated lapels, sequins and thigh-high latex boots) with 13th century motifs (think: luxe velvets, ruffled collars, capes, and petticoats).
It was further proof, as if we needed any, that Michele and Gucci are a match that’s written in the stars.
