Dear readers, first of all my apologies for my unexpected absence. My darling dog Coco died recently on top of feeling very burned out by social media so I took an unplanned hiatus, an online detox if you will. It was refreshing to simply crack open a book instead of following the latest sales and pre-fall offerings. It also gave me a chance to think about how to proceed with Prima Darling, but more about that at a later time. For now let’s get to the business at hand, the Gucci Grab Bag of fashion.
Gucci Grab Bag
I wasn’t planning on writing any more reviews for Pre-Fall but the Gucci presentation struck a cord. Alessandro Michele caused a revolution in fashion when he broke onto scene. His unorthodox crazy cat lady aesthetic was a wake up call to fashion to have fun, celebrate bad taste and above all brand it. Not surprisingly the fashion world jumped on-board. In the eyes of the fashion press Michele could do no wrong, never mind that the collections consisted mainly of thrift finds and reworked Chanel, it was daring in its embrace of all that is tacky. Michele won awards, Gucci stock rose and all was well in the fashion world.
We all know by now that clothes don’t matter much in the scheme of things. Gucci is riding high on the through the roof sales of the accessories. The ubiquitous slides, loafers and sneakers that seemingly every teen on the Upper East Side is wearing. The bags also are selling like very expensive hot cakes. The accessories designers are the real heroes here and I hope they are paid accordingly. Michele is a master stylist, though not a designer in the classical sense. Or is he? He quite possibly could be the designer of the future, mining but not designing for his Gucci Grab Bag. I grant you the collection has its gems, if you take the time to pick apart the complexities of a look. There are solid wearable pieces but nothing new or innovative. All are born of decades gone by.
What will drive fashion forward in the way that Chanel did or Azzedine Alaia or Halston in their day? Who’s looking out for the women, the feminists who are fighting for a seat at the table and demanding to be taken seriously? Phoebe Philo use to have their back, Tomas Maier as well. Who will free us of this endless loop of twentieth century rehashes and overpriced logo sweats? Even the most magnificent circus becomes tired when the same acts are on repeat. Perhaps 2019 will bring us more substance, less branding and innovation in keeping with the needs of women.
