Alessandro Michele - Designer, Creative Director of Valentino

[eugenius]

I was certainly not a fan of his latest propositions but he gave us some nice clothes that people will cherish. I know I will cherish all the pieces I have from his era.

You should add some pics of your Gucci pieces that you cherish, because, to me, his clothes always seemed like the total opposite of that, like clothes that you’d enjoy wearing once, twice, three times, but then retire to the back of your closet…never to be seen or heard from again.

Even though I hated his stuff and am happy to see Gucci move on, I still have a soft-spot for those goofy, 70s-style trousers that Harry & Hamish wear. Eh, c’est la vie.

 

[vetements]

Whilst I havent been loving Alessandro`s Gucci for a few years now , I still think he should stay.

The Gucci today, whilst isnt what Gucci was when the House first started, it has established a certain aesthetic in the fashion world today. If people like that kind of look, they go to Gucci, if the same person has a change of heart, they can go to Celine/ YSL/ Loewe etc etc. but each house should stand for a certain basic aesthetic and evolve bit by bit from there, not a total overhaul every decade!

As it is, it is sad that the Balenciaga today isnt what it is supposed to be, the Margiela isnt what used to be, and the list goes on...No wonder these days we need to have an affix like Gucci by Alessandro Michele, Celine by Hedi Slimane, because that last name may just well be replaced by another in a few years time.

in the same breath, I appreciate Hermes and Chanel, where designs have changed, it doesnt look drastically different.

 

[Lola701]

You should add some pics of your Gucci pieces that you cherish, because, to me, his clothes always seemed like the total opposite of that, like clothes that you’d enjoy wearing once, twice, three times, but then retire to the back of your closet…never to be seen or heard from again.

Even though I hated his stuff and am happy to see Gucci move on, I still have a soft-spot for those goofy, 70s-style trousers that Harry & Hamish wear. Eh, c’est la vie.

The princetown mules And tailoring are really emblematic pieces from his era.
I think I may have like 4 suits from him. The Dionysus is still one the best bags imo..

I might have like 10 pieces from his era excluding sunglasses. But I think those pieces are great.
Maybe I’m the worst example after all because I mostly buy more of the same things from almost everybody…

His work was boring and draining lately but I enjoyed his tenure compared to Frida’s…weirdly.

Well, they kinda did it with Frida to put him there.

Yes KERING. They « fired » her immediately with her husband instead of being elegant enough to give her a farewell show.

 

[kikifoz]

Whilst I havent been loving Alessandro`s Gucci for a few years now , I still think he should stay.

The Gucci today, whilst isnt what Gucci was when the House first started, it has established a certain aesthetic in the fashion world today. If people like that kind of look, they go to Gucci, if the same person has a change of heart, they can go to Celine/ YSL/ Loewe etc etc. but each house should stand for a certain basic aesthetic and evolve bit by bit from there, not a total overhaul every decade!

As it is, it is sad that the Balenciaga today isnt what it is supposed to be, the Margiela isnt what used to be, and the list goes on...No wonder these days we need to have an affix like Gucci by Alessandro Michele, Celine by Hedi Slimane, because that last name may just well be replaced by another in a few years time.

in the same breath, I appreciate Hermes and Chanel, where designs have changed, it doesnt look drastically different.

It's a bit like Vogue Paris under Emmanuelle Alt. In the moment the receptiveness was a bit tiresome, but when a lesser successor comes in you realize the importance of a clear, distinct vision.

 

[Frederic01]

Also: I can’t believe Frida Giannini lasted longer at the helm of Gucci than Alessandro! LOL

 

[Lola701]

Also: I can’t believe Frida Giannini lasted longer at the helm of Gucci than Alessandro! LOL

I bet she is having the last laugh now…
I mean, she was very consistent in terms of sales and image. It was borderline boring at times but she was the queen of accessories and she understood luxury.

Alessandro skyrocketed after the first show but slow sales came up quite early. There was a Gucci fatigue already in his fourth year.

 

[Scotty]

Ohh, this is news! But whatever comes next is going to be Alessandro-lite, so...

 

[GreyVetiver]

If sales is so important to Pinault, how is Sarah Burton still at McQueen? Does anyone know how it performs commercially?

 

[THD96]

If sales is so important to Pinault, how is Sarah Burton still at McQueen? Does anyone know how it performs commercially?

Because Sarah's signatures sold well. They are about to reach 1 billion in annual sales. That is very impressive for a brand that is somewhat still quite niche. Pinault knows that Sarah allows the brand to have stable healthy growth. He may be ruthless but he is realistic with each brand, he knows that it's pointless to set goals like 2 billion in 3 years for a brand like McQueen because historically this is a fashion brand, not a luxury brand. The DNA of the brand is not for the masses.

But this is Kering, so who knows, nobody is safe.

 

[perhydrol]

^Literally nobody is safe at Kering. I believe Tomas Maier had relatively healthy sales yet he got fired and his namesake brand, bought by Kering, was closed. All that happened after 17 years at the brand.

 

[Lola701]

^Literally nobody is safe at Kering. I believe Tomas Maier had relatively healthy sales yet he got fired and his namesake brand, bought by Kering, was closed. All that happened after 17 years at the brand.

Because sales slightly declined at BV and at the time, BV was 2nd brand of the group…

But once again, very definite and abrupt exit.

I can only imagine if Givenchy was owned by Pinault and had Williams as a designer. He would have been out already.

 

[ivano]

I think Harry Styles made more for the raise of the brand than Michele himself. He picked the biggest popstar and gen Z idol. After their first collab, kids went after Gucci and that's why they love this brand. I never liked the boho/nerdy aesthetic at all. It's far from the Halston style from Ford. Tom was way bigger than Michele, but at the time there weren't (besides the 2000s musicians) massive pop idols and social media. Gucci was so adult, until 2015.

 

[Machinegumm]

Jared Leto and Harry Styles are crying into their ruffled blouses atm.

 

[MulletProof]

But once again, very definite and abrupt exit.

And honestly, there's nothing rare or cruel about it, nice wake-up call for whoever is fool enough to think the aggressive exposure and benefits of a large and ruthless conglomerate will be matched with the heartfelt farewell of a mom-and-pop shop. This is actually a pretty honest way of parting ways in the corporate world, cold turkey and straight forward as soon as conflict and incompatibility can't be negotiated. Helping them grow is expressed through salary and in rare cases like this one, with enormous creative freedom. They really don't owe this man anything, giving him some kind of swan song/last show would send such an inaccurate, hypocritical message on the current state of fashion. Kering dressing up as AF Vandevorst for one night? no thanks, let Kering be Kering at all times so people don't lose sight of what they endorse.

 

[FrAnKA]

Someone on Twitter explained why Alessandro left Gucci, and to me it makes perfect sense.

 

[Machinegumm]

^ Jesus, for a second I thought that was Charles Manson in the first pic.

 

[YohjiAddict]

^I always found an astounding resemblance between the two…

 

[Cocteau Stone]

If sales is so important to Pinault, how is Sarah Burton still at McQueen? Does anyone know how it performs commercially?

Because Sarah's signatures sold well.

I don't know the numbers of them, but I am very aware of how their sneakers sell even from a local point of view. People that I know buying McQueen sneakers when I would never expect them to know about McQueen as a brand in of itself, so this for sure helps keep some of the sales afloat alongside Burton's signatures.

As for Michele, I'm indifferent. I didn't mind his debut but when it became the same thing again and again, with Leto and Styles being shoved in our faces, I really tuned out and only found joy in very few pieces visually once I stripped away all the bells and whistles. His collections felt more like an exercise in over styling rather than fashion (which is happening at Valentino now which gives me huge ick). Some great campaigns though, marred by some pretty annoying collabs.

I think we are all looking for a general shift to happen in fashion and maybe this a catalyst, but maybe it isn't. Considering the other designer hoopla that is going on, things kind of feel like they are in a strange limbo at the moment and one can't get too hopeful about what the changes will bring.

 

[Drusilla_]

I'm no fan of Michele's, to be clear, BUT.
For me the gist of this story is that Suits (at Kering in particular but not only there) have no respect for creatives. Full stop.
The detail that Pinault was unhappy with Gucci's earnings in the current fiscal year being just +9% vs an expected +10% speaks volumes about the folly that the fashion industry has become.
Along with the news about Raf's label closing (Raf has been very vocal about his disillusionment with the current state of things in fashion), this one is a further remainder of the gap in sensibilities between Bean Counters and Creatives, their relationship doomed to be more and more strained in the long term, and how could it be otherwise? I can't even think about the compromises that designers have to accept today in order to stay afloat.
And how can you be a good professional, let alone a creative one, if you know you are not allowed to fail or let your hair loose even for a second?

It's been clear for decades now that these big houses exist primarily to sell leather goods and perfumes because that's what makes them money (not knocking the leather goods or perfumes btw, I have some myself) and that the house style/fashion codes are becoming just a means to draw the customer into believing that the bags/perfumes allow them to 'buy in' to the label's style at an accessible price point.

But the thing was that Alessandro's clothes sold, kooky as the aesthetic seemed it actually made them money and tripled their revenue from what it was in 2015. He also had a really strong line in accessories (even I, a logo hater, liked the look of the redesigned Gucci logo on the Marmont bags). And if even someone who achieved THAT for the brand is let go in less than eight years over a slightly lower than expected growth...... these are impossible hoops for designers to jump, and fashion in the last decade has suffered for it. As you said, where is the room for designers to experiment or actually take a risk/do something new in the face of this constant demand for ever-higher profits? Some carry it off, or carry it for a while. But it's clearly not a sustainable trajectory.

 

[Frederic01]

What’s the tea here? Nicolas Ghesquiere just posted this on his IG story…


NICOLAS GHESQUIERE INSTAGRAM