It would be easy to dismiss any collection celebrating an anniversary to be a compilation of “greatest hits”, what more a centenary (a dying rank amongst obsolete heritage Houses). However, luxury Italian Maison Gucci’s centennial collection titled “Gucci Aria” is beyond the amalgamation of said greatest hits — it firmly solidifies Gucci as a cultural tastemaker regardless of the decade it moves into.
Gucci Aria begins with Tom Ford’s Fall Winter 1996 sensual red velvet suit walking into the Savoy Club. Creative director Alessandro Michele updated the look with a more pronounced shoulder and fetishised leather harness stylings — paying homage to Gucci’s equestrian roots. “Savoy” that repeatedly appears as a noun on jockey caps allude to founder Guccio Gucci’s teenager days as a lift attendant at the Savoy Hotel in London, which in turn inspired him to start the House of Gucci in 1921.
After the club doors, models walk through a “runway” replete with flashing cameras and to the beat of “Gucci Gang” by Lil Pump. Several pop songs that prominently sings of Gucci follows suit — again, a signifier of how the Italian Maison has become colloquial in popular culture.
Michele shares the significance of the set, “We get into a club, neon lights and cameras, but we find out that the party we deserve doesn’t happen in the lobby of a London hotel of the 20s. It’s rather like a deep and ecstatic diving in everything we yearningly miss today: a feast of air.”
Prior to the Gucci Aria reveal, many speculated of an operatic take on the centennial collection but it in fact is another literal Italian translation for “air”. It was also speculated to dismiss Balenciaga’s involvement (also a member in the Kering group with Gucci) for Gucci Aria as an aria was a solo section sung by one person in an opera.
Then, that familiar peplum bodysuit with tights-boots (Look 10) — albeit filled in the Gucci monogram — hit the runway and eyebrows raised. Look 21 came and went, then it was Look 22’s Jackie bag inscribed with “Balenciaga” confirming the news.
Don’t be mistaken, Gucci Aria is not a Balenciaga collaboration but instead part of a project Michele terms “hacking lab” — “made of incursions and metamorphoses. An alchemical factory of contaminations where everything connects to anything. A place where thefts and explosive reactions happen: a permanent generator of sparkles and unpredictable desires. On this occasion, then, I want to honour my filial affection betraying the legacy that was handed down to me. Because the promise of a never-ending birth is only renewed through an evolving capacity.”
Gucci Aria then transits into the fantastical setting of a utopian garden where air is in abundance and the models revel in the free-spiritedness. “So the idea of the party glorifies in the generating power of nature and in the breath of life that pervades it. Breath is in fact what every living thing constantly generates,” shares Michele.
Michele took the helm of Gucci in 2015 when he single-handedly steered the House back into popular relevance with his modern take on gender non-conforming, bohemian styles. Gucci Aria is proof that Michele still has a vision for Gucci to be a constant cultural icon — be it reviving old Hollywood styles and floral prints embedded in its annals, or “contaminating” and “Gucci-fying” popular symbols — and that regardless of critic’s banal bashings of “sameness”, Gucci will be coming up tops in its centennial celebrations.
Here, this editor’s 10 favourite looks from Gucci Aria.
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Look 1: The suit is blood red, is a plush velvet and has so much history written into it (Tom Ford and Gucci’s equestrian roots) — it would be a crime to not have this in the list.
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Look 5: One can immediately visualise Michele’s design notes for this looks, “make the horse-riding outfit fashion — fit for a night out in the clubs”.
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Look 23: This look might not be a strong proposition as womenswear but put it on a strapping young buck, the megawatt confidence of masculinity electrifies.
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Look 41: While Demna’s Balenciaga-derived padded square shoulders coat might be at the base, Michele’s Gucci stylings of horn buttons, riding goggles and riding boots is appreciated for the well-executed bricolage.
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Look 91: Another well-executed bricolage for Gucci Aria that is distinctively Gucci but there is also the added appreciation towards the craftsmanship behind the Balenciaga hourglass jacket.
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Look 48: While this star print makes the only appearance here, the look encompasses all of Gucci’s current and ex-creative director’s stylings — a centennial celebration indeed.
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Look 54: The capelet-style sweater would prove to be a very powerful layering piece in the wardrobe with its multiple possibilities of wearing with the shoulder fasteners.
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Look 69: This would definitely be the key look for the Gucci Aria collection.
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Look 72: A nude take on the 1990s relaxed suit embellished in sequins paired with a worn pair of sneakers puts the look in the middle ground of “bothering to dress up but not caring too much”.
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Look 89: While the non-assuming plaid might often be overlooked, it demonstrates the meticulous nature of good sartorialism where the lines “match up” at the seams. Also, Harry Styles would wear this.
Once you’re done making a mental note of the looks to cop for Gucci Aria, click here to catch up with our April 2021 issue.
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