Discussion: Who Should Be The Creative Director of Gucci?

[LadyJunon]

Autocorrect is a b*tch!

Unfortunately for us, Haider has always been a free spirit and doing things his own way. He had this collab with Filla and in Jan he will present co-HC with JPG and voila - he has money for next few years! The only two people who get to experience his unique and exquisite, stylish and sublime style are: Tilda Swinton and that annoying twink...

So no more Galliano (he quit doing shows and I don't lurk on social media), no more Ackermann.

At least I've still got Dries (his post pandemic menswear can burn in hell though) Theyskens (give me ONE MORE SHOW, I beg you) and Ghesquiére (depose of M.A.S. though)...

 

[90sFan]

Tisci! Has to be Tisci. He would do wonders at Gucci!!!

 

[reese06]

Tisci! Has to be Tisci. He would do wonders at Gucci!!!

If he is feeling inspired and actually up to the task of creating and designing for a global brand of Gucci's magnitude. Otherwise, he can stay hanging out with his celebrity and model friends with cute men on instagram.

He could do it but does he want to. I don't want more studio team collections that he approved remotely a la Burberry.

While Michele did seem to have burned out and it's no wonder, the suits seem to want another Karl. Someone who will give their life to a brand and i think they will be hard pressed to find that in this era of easy celebrity.

I actually think Michele was close and gave a lot but didn't have the range.

 

[LadyJunon]

If he is feeling inspired and actually up to the task of creating and designing for a global brand of Gucci's magnitude. Otherwise, he can stay hanging out with his celebrity and model friends with cute men on instagram.

He could do it but does he want to. I don't want more studio team collections that he approved remotely a la Burberry.

While Michele did seem to have burned out and it's no wonder, the suits seem to want another Karl. Someone who will give their life to a brand and i think they will be hard pressed to find that in this era of easy celebrity.

I actually think Michele was close and gave a lot but didn't have the range.

I think that Michele could've pulled that off, or at least a Marc Jacobs, but he lacked a more panoramic view of his vision as he referenced the same late 70s/early 80s era over and over and his customers, since the androgynous look at its purest is unapproachable to the mainstream luxury male clientele.

We also have the factor that Michele doesn't seem interested enough in celebrity to become that sort of star designer (good on him) which seems to be a running theme across Kering, except maybe Vaccarello. The problem is mirrored in Louis Vuitton with Ghesquiére, whose creative output is too complicated and unusual for Gen-Z/social media consumption. Fortunately, they had Kim Jones, Virgil Abloh and whatever sh*tty replacement will be hired to fill that hole.

 

[Frederic01]

While Michele did seem to have burned out and it's no wonder, the suits seem to want another Karl. Someone who will give their life to a brand and i think they will be hard pressed to find that in this era of easy celebrity.

I actually think Michele was close and gave a lot but didn't have the range.

To be fair, the position that Karl held in the fashion landscape was truly unique. Michele had a much more challenging job in a way: in addition to womenswear, he had to do menswear, childrenswear, homewares, and also high jewellery. And on top of that he had to design to sell to the masses.

Karl on the other hand designed womenswear for an extraordinarily select few. And he could do what he did at Chanel so well because the marketing and business team was/is so strong and successful in their vision for the brand. For example the limited distribution networks and pricing model (always much higher than its competitors) made his clothes seem much more exclusive and limited than other fashion houses, which drove long-term desire.

Gucci wants to be at the level of Chanel but they also want to be chasing hype beast dollars, and I don't think that can work. Chanel and Hermes are so successful because even with changes of creative direction, the aesthetic core remains the same and they don't rock the boat so to speak with their aesthetic.

Gucci is and always will be a trendy, 'of the moment' brand. It will never be a kind of "forever/classic" like Chanel or Hermes. Realistically speaking, out of the Kering brands, only YSL has the potential to be on that ultra prestige level IMO.

 

[Fulton St Critique]

They should just take their time before rushing into anything.

I really appreciate how LVMH has yet to hire a CD for LV Menswear. I think too often these corporations are happy to throw large sums of money at anyone with even the slightest hint of promise in an attempt to create a buzz or generate hype. Look no further than Lanvin post Alber- though I guess congratulations on their latest Wall Street listing?

I wish they would hire from within again. Ann D should have done this. With such a great team full of talent, they could have easily promoted one of the design leads to take charge of the brand, but alas, they too opted for hype and hired another trendy designer to take the reigns.

 

[LadyJunon]

To be fair, the position that Karl held in the fashion landscape was truly unique. Michele had a much more challenging job in a way: in addition to womenswear, he had to do menswear, childrenswear, homewares, and also high jewellery. And on top of that he had to design to sell to the masses.

Karl on the other hand designed womenswear for an extraordinarily select few. And he could do what he did at Chanel so well because the marketing and business team was/is so strong and successful in their vision for the brand. For example the limited distribution networks and pricing model (always much higher than its competitors) made his clothes seem much more exclusive and limited than other fashion houses, which drove long-term desire.

Gucci wants to be at the level of Chanel but they also want to be chasing hype beast dollars, and I don't think that can work. Chanel and Hermes are so successful because even with changes of creative direction, the aesthetic core remains the same and they don't rock the boat so to speak with their aesthetic.

Gucci is and always will be a trendy, 'of the moment' brand. It will never be a kind of "forever/classic" like Chanel or Hermes. Realistically speaking, out of the Kering brands, only YSL has the potential to be on that ultra prestige level IMO.

Balenciaga could've been that too if they kept to their couture/ready-to-wear hybrid positioning Ghesquiére set up. Also I feel that the super-high-luxury positioning easier for houses with a couture or artisan background to pull off:
• Balenciaga and YSL have the couture background.
• Bottega has the artisan background.
• Alexander McQueen has a sort of modernised hybrid of both.
• Gucci has neither.

 

[GivenchyHomme]

Whatever happened to the Gucci Première line? Was it just a one off?

 

[LadyJunon]

Whatever happened to the Gucci Première line? Was it just a one off?

If you're talking about the perfume, I'd believe that it was discontinued during Michele's tenure to clean out any remaining traces of Ford/Giannini's old glamorous jetsetter aesthetic.

 

[GivenchyHomme]

If you're talking about the perfume, I'd believe that it was discontinued during Michele's tenure to clean out any remaining traces of Ford/Giannini's old glamorous jetsetter aesthetic.

No, it was an actual couture line.

Gucci Couture

 

[Lola701]

Balenciaga could've been that too if they kept to their couture/ready-to-wear hybrid positioning Ghesquiére set up. Also I feel that the super-high-luxury positioning easier for houses with a couture or artisan background to pull off:
• Balenciaga and YSL have the couture background.
• Bottega has the artisan background.
• Alexander McQueen has a sort of modernised hybrid of both.
• Gucci has neither.

Gucci has that but they have never really used it as part of their marketing or at least of their story telling. When we look at the codes and iconic products of Gucci, they have that old money kind of heritage. I think about the bambou bags, the mors or flora scarves, the loafers, the Jackie bags. Beyond the work of Tom Ford, we associate Gucci with a certain idea of jet set 60´s/70’s lifestyle.

But unlike Vuitton or Hermes, they have never institutionalized the classic, craftsmanship side of their business.

The strategy behind Gucci has been very fashion and products oriented , even more under Michele because Frida tried to do institutionalized Campaigns like the one with Verushka.

For example I find it quite weird that a leather goods company stops using furs and exotic skins. Neither Hermes and Vuitton could do such a thing. Prada can afford it because they have elevated Nylon to luxury. But when you want the Uber luxurious bag from Gucci, what does it look like?

Whatever happened to the Gucci Première line? Was it just a one off?

It was just advertising budget spent on Redcarpet dressing (even if I wouldn’t be surprised if some clients bought from them). Gucci Premiere is no different from Atelier Versace.

 

[Frederic01]

Whatever happened to the Gucci Première line? Was it just a one off?

It was rebranded under Alessandro. What they had as a replacement was a kind of trunk show of exquisite and unique gowns (and sometimes special suits and kaftans) that were designed by the in-house team and mirrored what Alessandro was doing that previous season.

It wasn't "Couture" in the way that the gowns were made absolutely with your measurements, but rather you ordered a size, and it was altered at a later stage to fit you at a boutique level. The designs (to my memory) could not be customised per se, but sometimes the overall colour could be changed.

They had an entire team dedicated to it, and they travelled the world to all the obvious locations. Those gowns were not cheap. Some of them were upwards of 50,000 EUROS.

I believe Milan had the top floor of the boutique dedicated to these "Couture" dresses throughout the year at various stages. I was lucky enough to see it a few times - it was so dreamy!

 

[LadyJunon]

No, it was an actual couture line.

Gucci Couture

Oh, then I think it might still be operational. Michele has occasionally shown heavily decorated gowns and suits on the runway that didn't become part of the shop offering, especially towards the end of his tenure.

They don't really do the whole ceremony of a couture show or presentation in Paris or Rome, so I imagine that it must be a quiet operation like modern-day Atelier Versace, where it's solely reserved for red carpets and special orders. I believe Daniel Del Core was part of that team before he started his own label with a backer.

 

[Mutterlein]

Most high end brands keep a dedicated team or designer on staff who only work on custom for red carpet dressing. What they call it and how it is marketed varies from brand to brand.