Gucci Pre-Fall 2015 : Alexandra Elizabeth, Julia, Jack & Sabina by Glen Luchford

[lakomka]

MILAN, Italy — In January, when Kering appointed Alessandro Michele to replace his former boss Frida Giannini as creative director of luxury behemoth Gucci, the fashion industry was taken by surprise to say the least. Michele was a previously unknown, behind-the-scenes accessories designer, now tasked with revitalising the stagnating Gucci business whose brand image and runway collections under Giannini were well-executed, yet failed to inspire consumers and the industry.

Michele’s first men’s and women’s shows for Gucci were generally well-received by industry insiders and signalled his plan to take the brand in a very different direction indeed. Gone were the sexy ‘glamazons’ born during the Tom Ford-era, and then re-incarnated over and over again by Giannini. Under Michele, the Gucci girl had found a new kind of sexiness that was one part intellectual, one part romantic and one part repressed.

Today, BoF can exclusively reveal the next step in the brand’s repositioning efforts: Gucci’s first advertising campaign under Michele’s creative direction, shot by Glen Luchford and styled by Joe McKenna, for Pre-Fall 2015.

Moving on from Mert & Marcus, the long-time lensmen of Gucci's glossy and sexualised ads of the past, Luchford has given the new Gucci campaign an almost vintage feel, reflecting a more real life scenario. The campaign continues in the spirit of the mysterious sexuality seen in Michele’s debut collections, but shows less of the gender-bending vibe that made headlines after his menswear show. No men in p*ssy bows here.

Set in a run-down apartment (seemingly before or after some kind of sexual liaison) furnished with only a worn out oriental carpet and sofas, model Julia Hafstrom sits up, staring at the torso of male model Jack Chambers, whose face remains absent throughout the campaign. Elsewhere, model Alexandra Elisabeth lies languorously on a sofa, playing with her hair, taking in the same unidentifiable man, who remains shirtless and off to the side of the shot. In another shot, advertising men’s shoes, Chambers is in the midst of removing his sweater, completely covering his face, but revealing a slim, rippling abdomen.

Overall, the adverts reflect a clear change of spirit which feels much more modern and current than previous Gucci campaigns.

But there’s also an unusual twist. The collection featured in the new campaign is actually the final one designed by Giannani, though due to her abrupt exit, it was Michele who was tasked with creating the associated ad campaign, a potentially awkward situation which Michele has handled rather well.

Gucci is not characterising Michele’s new vision for the company as a wholesale re-branding in the form of Hedi Slimane’s Saint Laurent or Phoebe Philo’s Céline (it’s hard to imagine either one of these strong-headed designers agreeing to create a campaign for a collection designed by a predecessor). Instead, it appears that Gucci’s new creative leadership plans to redefine the brand step-by-step.

But the financial results will have to come quickly.

In 2014, Gucci revenues fell almost 2 percent to €3.4 billion (about $4 billion) while operating profit declined 6.7 percent. This is a serious challenge for Kering, whose luxury portfolio is dominated by Gucci. The group’s next biggest brands, Saint Laurent and Bottega Veneta, together drive about $2 billion in sales.

Credits:
Creative Direction : Alessandro Michele
Art Direction: Christopher Simmonds
Styling: Joe McKenna
Photography: Glen Luchford
Hair: Paul Hanlon
Make-up: Yadim Carranza

www.businessoffashion.com

 

[madzedre]

Kinda reminds me of Mario Testino work for gucci a few years back. I didn't like it it´s too minimal and sad

 

[Mody]

It is a confusing campaign With all the sex appeal those outfits have This campaign just show it in a completely wrong way Nothing sexy Nothing modern As the article says it is under Michele's charge, which makes me think how poor this guy's imagination is Use your romantic poetic vision to execute these pre-fall collection is not that hard...

 

[Thefrenchy]

Ah, wish we had them with the logo on it!

I agree with BoF when they state that asking Michele to create an ad for a collection he hasn't designed is rather awkward. There's something raw about it that I like, it's a simple set focusing on the product and I can totally understand not wanting to create a strong universe around this particular collection as it it not his.

Maybe they should have done it all like the 3rd shot: taking off the old Gucci to welcome the new one

 

[testinofan]

I think that looks like an editorial, but I like the change of the photographer

 

[Benn98]

I like that he chose Luchford, who in my opinion is somewhat underrated. That said, this looks too clinical. I'd have thought maybe Willy shot this as it reminds me of his Dior campaigns. Glad for Julia more than anything else.

 

[Creative]

To me this is very Prada around 2000.

 

[Lola701]

Even if it looks very Prada, his Gucci seems to be inspired by the Tom Ford days. Instead of trying to copy him (like Alessandra) or totally ignore him (like Frida in the beginning), he is doing his own thing while taking inspirations from him.

I hope they will change their website and everything.
I like this campaign. Frida's campaign were formulatic while Tom used to take risks with his ads.

 

[jeffandtheworld]

Depressing. Cheap. Very editorial. Lack of energy. Try too hard to be cool.
We already have Saint Laurent, we don't need another.

 

[last high]

fantastic

 

[elle_gb]

It's very unusual Gucci. It's still sexy in not obvious way,I quite like twisted of this ad.It's suspicious and raw.

 

[Cosmic Voices]

I really enjoy the solo men's shot, it's dynamic. The others are just pretty standard

 

[TREVOFASHIONISTO]

i just really want that couch

 

[kokobombon]

I like it because it doesn´t look "posed"

 

[VogueDisciple93]

I like it. It is very editorial seeing it with the logo might change that perception, but I think they are great shot no matter the brand. Favorite shots are the solo men's shot and the one with just the red bag.

 

[valliaddict]

I had a strong feeling that Luchford would be the the new photographer for Gucci after seeing Michele's mens & womens collections. I quite like this, actually.

 

[kasper!]

It reminds me of Corinne Day's pages in 90's The Face and I don't think it's a bad thing...


BTW, surprise to see it first published in BOF, not WWd...

 

[liberty33r1b]

not very appealing and the clothes look rather cheap...

 

[MON]

Well they convinced me to buy that couch!...

oh wait, it's a clothing campaign. Such a shame. It's weak imo.

 

[jescajade]

To me this is very Prada around 2000.

I instantly thought Prada when I saw this, I kind of like the direction Alessandro Michele is going with Gucci. I'm looking forward to seeing how he captures the spirit of his own collections for the Fall campaigns.