Favorite Gucci Collection Ever

Oh Tom .. I miss old Gucci .. the understated sexiness & the goth romance!.

Frida's can just .. :hardhead:
 
I wish I was old enough to experience the Tom Ford era! I too am going to have to look up his work! BRB :smile:
 
^ I was quite young back then too :lol: But after I got "into" fashion, I started looking at old collections and I was like :shock:
 
^
Yes! Nothing Frida will ever attempt at will live up to the standards of what Gucci was under Tom.
 
i agree ! im obsessed with early tom gucci ....i wish people would post early editorials from 95 and 96 which was the very best !!
 
This is easy. My fav Gucci ever is the F/W 96 collection. When I think of Tom Ford and Gucci I automatically think of those white Halston-ish gowns. So sleek and sexy. I've dreamt of getting married in those dresses but, ahem, I'm the wrong size...:innocent:
 
Definitely;

FW 03/04 the girls of BladeRunner -
I mean, the corsets of the 21 Century, the color palette, the construction, the shape... the stiletto heels piercing the white rose petals, the eyebrow-less makeup... The perfect perfect show in every way. That red column gown on Carmen... Simply astonishing.

FW 02/03 the ladies of Goth -
All that black, the satin, the fluidity, the messy hair, eye smudged eye. All of those shapeless dresses fastened with that gorgeous Obi belts (btw, I own both versions of those belts - found years later on ebay)... That WAS Gubbi once: all that sex, all that charisma, the bedroom eyes and dirty thoughts.

FW 04/05 The ultimate Gucci woman -
His farewell show... I do not know what I can say that has not already been said. When Eugenia walked out in that poison green gown with the V shaped satin stripes surrounding her torso, I had fallen in love. What was that show??


I also would like to add SS 05 and FW 05/06 - the Alessandra years. Everyone hates those seasons for some reason, but I really liked them actually. Yes, they were repetitive and a little redundant in some ways, but they were full of GORGEOUS looks, one after the other. I am sure many women would love to own a piece from those collections, and both seasons were maybe two of the most successful accessory collections Gucci has presented, ever. Back then, Giannini's taste was much more refined and opulent.

Both of those collections were beaten to death, especially the latter, but then, were covered in editorials like there was no other dress made that year by another label. Yes, the Gucci push was obviously huge, but Facchinetti did not deserve all that malice and hatred from the likes of Sarah Mower, who, btw, has a very 'special' relationship with Gucci, ever since Alessandra got fired -doing their book and writing great reviews to Frida and all.

Curious.
 
^ I think the biggest problem with Alessandra's two Gucci collections, and of course this is just my own take on them, was that they were over-designed. Some of those pieces, particularly a lot of the pieces she did for Resort and S/S 05 were just way too worked. That certainly isn't to say that Tom's stuff couldn't be very worked as well (his last two collections definitely were) but I think he knew when to stop before the garment actually suffered from too much detail. Then again, five years after the fact I can look back and say that even some of the pieces he showed in his final Gucci collection were overdone and didn't display his usual good judgement.

After seeing Alessandra's work at Valentino I definitely don't think that Alessandra is a designer who just can't help but over-work the clothes, but rather that she let the pressure at Gucci get the better of her and tried too hard to prove that she was up to the task. I actually think that if she had been given time to ease into her role that she would have lightened her approach and gone with her gut instead of trying too hard.
 
^ that is true.

It was not like Gucci was this brand suffering so much before she became the creative director and she could do whatever she wanted to make changes. In some ways, she had to deliver something similar at the beginning to what people know Gucci to be Gucci. The simple fact is, everyone loved Gucci but maybe they loved Tom more. She would never be able to measure up at the beginning.

I frankly think that she had the responsibility to make people ease into things - new things. Yes, some looks were way overworked with too many details, but is that a reason valid enough to fire a woman and replace her with someone else after only two seasons?

I prefer her clothes presented in those two shows -and those were not my favorite collections ever, btw- to 95% of what Giannini has been presenting all these years. In many ways, they did look expensive and elevated. I think she just tried way too hard to shake Tom's minimalistic approach, which as you have also said, took a back-seat in more than a few of his latest collections. That is why she overworked those gowns with beads, sequins, forced draping, and different materials.

If given the chance, she could have done something amazing with Gucci. I am not sure about Valentino, since her some of clothes were amazing, but kind of wrong for the Valentino customer - the customer who enjoys things we deem to be even 'tacky' at times. She was too refined maybe for the brand, and she did not deliver what they wanted.

Also, when I say collection, I am not just talking about just the shows, but the total work of design. The bags, the shoes, the accessories, the colors, the atmosphere... those two shows were something else in terms of mood. I look at those gowns at the FW 05-06 season with their sequin/spider web detailing, the sheer, the straps etc. and yes, they simply SCREAM. It was too much. But no matter what, things could have been shifted, instead of the mess Gucci is right now.

Everything looks so cheap, and not on the runway only, but in the stores as well.



PS: I still cannot understand why John Ray had to leave, because ever since HIS departure, the Gucci men is dead, or I should say, being reduced to lapis color rubber loafers and duffle bags with hand drawn mermaids on them. That is simply sad.
 
FW 03/04, my biggest love. I can watch this show thousand times, everything is just perfect - the clothes, catawalk, music. Breathtaking.

I also adore his last collection for FW 04/05. After watching the video with crying models I was feeling like crying myself :cry: (and I still feel, actually, when I'm looking at Gucci today)
 
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I also adore his last collection for FW 04/05. After watching the video with crying models I was feeling like crying myself :cry: (and I still feel, actually, when I'm looking at Gucci today)
So true. And I find that the extreme emotion felt at his last Gucci collection is such a strong testament to Tom's talent. When was the last time every model broke down in tears after a show? He had such a strong vision, and I'm sure the models felt incredibly lucky to be a part of his vision...they were a member of the Tom Ford family. And that sadness was felt by everyone, really.
 
everyone's all over the F/W collections :lol:

they were genius tho.

what i also liked were the Spring collection, like Spring 04. so glossy, colorful, cheery, but so feminine, sexy, provocative, relaxed in a well postured way. those Marabou feather jackets which looked like fur, those gorgeous clutches and, my ultimate Gucci love, those corsett heels.

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i mean, those were LEGENDARY.

Spring 03 with the kimono prints. laid back, yet so sexy.

Tom gave us so much variety, yet everything was envisioned with the same woman in mind. he knew how to push buttons, the right ones at the right time, unlike Frida who can only press the button on her Bedazzler.
 
^Oh my, I've been thinking about these shoes just five minutes ago, looking at the S/S 04 ad campaign (which was posted by you, actually, to compare it with S/S 09 #107 :lol:). They are gorgeus indeed, love the colour :heart:
 
^ There were some really gorgeous pieces in that S/S 04 collection, especially some of the pleated silk jackets and embellished skirts. And of course, those shoes, which are still effing gorgeous looking 5 years later. I always loved them in the turquoise color.

The strange thing is though, I think the best Gucci collections were Fall collections. I don't know why. It's not that the old spring collections were bad, and some of them are definitely among my favorites (1997, 2001, 2003) but I think that as far as the Ford era goes there were more standout fall collections than there were spring collections. Maybe it was because Tom was able to indulge more in his natural instincts, dark color, sharp lines, luxe fabrics, a slightly more "dressed" feel....I dunno. :huh:
 
I can't remember the year and i am looking for a pic
but the year Tom Ford did those Kimono's my heart pounded with delight and shear compulsion to get my hands on one of them.
 
^ That was S/S 2003. He did kimonos for the mens and womens collections. :flower:
 
i agree with the fall collections. the jackets, coats and layers created some delicious drama. Tiiu's coat with the wrapped up sleeves and the black gloves, man, that's some serious drama. instant presence.

his taste, coupled with Carine's styling, that was the magic combination. they worked really well together, most of the time knew when to stop, when to add stuff.

those corsetts peaking out from under the dresses.... ugh.... fantastic stuff.
 
^ There were some really gorgeous pieces in that S/S 04 collection, especially some of the pleated silk jackets and embellished skirts. And of course, those shoes, which are still effing gorgeous looking 5 years later. I always loved them in the turquoise color.

The strange thing is though, I think the best Gucci collections were Fall collections. I don't know why. It's not that the old spring collections were bad, and some of them are definitely among my favorites (1997, 2001, 2003) but I think that as far as the Ford era goes there were more standout fall collections than there were spring collections. Maybe it was because Tom was able to indulge more in his natural instincts, dark color, sharp lines, luxe fabrics, a slightly more "dressed" feel....I dunno. :huh:


I agree.

Luxury really speaks loud at the F/W presentations. Ad Tom's Gucci was always about luxury - a very upscale expensive look. The velvets, the leathers, the furs... I mean, after all Gucci is a leather-goods company. And Tom did indulge in the black, aubergine, midnight blue and jewel tones ever so often. It is difficult to bring that level of opulence to S/S when people just wanted to wear less, and just look sexy.

At the time, 'sexy' was truly wearing light and much less. There was something almost sinful and addictive seeing all that low cuts and and high slits in winter fabrics - so Hedonistic in many ways. Fall/Winter fashion is the fashion that excites us all - hence thick 'the September Issue.' I guess he knew that the Gucci woman wanted to look chic and expensive as she can be in the city during dark months, and totally freed from any boundary and cumbersome layers during summer.

Plus, all that lux material could only be applied to modern fashion on winter clothing, without any of look looking too overworked. I mean, silk is just as luxurious and cashmere or velvet, but the level of detail he wanted to obtain could only be achieved when you have materials heavy enough to work with. If you look at his summer pieces, they are all the sheer, the minimal, the fluid and the skin-friendly pieces that is all about excess and indulging in showing skin in the most flattering way possible. From that 'kimono' collection, I remember seeing Rie in a olive green kimono sans a belt or anything else underneath. Or Carmen, in that pink mess dress that was only covered with a satin ribbon roll.

Pretty spectacular, but not like the lilac/grey coat jacket with asymmetric fox pelt dangling over Daria's shoulders... I mean that was bold.
 

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