Gucci S/S 11 Milan

[montrealm]

This is Gucci under Frida what do you want, overall im pleased.

 

[helmut.newton]

I am not necessarily a 'die hard fan' of Frida's work for Gucci, but I think this collection is pretty appealing. The colour palette, especially the combination of the colour-blocking looks in the opening with the desert camel and black looks in the middle, were perfect. Its the perfect synthesis of whats very 'now' and what will be very 'tomorrow', no?

And not to sound too aggressive or anything, but what authenticates brands like Louis Vuitton and Lanvin drawing from tribal influences over Gucci? Surely, if anyone has 'the right' to have these kind of influences its [obviously Saint-Laurent] but also Gucci? Their archives are full of ready-to-wear and celebrities who are wearing this kind of tribal / Moroccan / glam look.

 

[Spike413]

I can't speak for everybody obviously, but I don't have a problem with her wanting to reference that whole YSL thing at all. I just don't happen to think she managed to do anything good with the references. The results are a bit crude.

 

[TianSoFine]

I like this collection. I can't say exactly what, but something about it really appeals to me.

 

[tania_rc]

I love the exotic influences, more relaxed but still feel sleek enough to be Gucci. The black outfits are a little less exciting / more 'done' but the bold colours I think work really well.

 

[disco54]

Yeah the color combos maybe striking initially but the rest of it is drab and vapid I find , it honestly reminds me of BeBe .

 

[disco54]

nytimes.com gotta love Cathy Horyns critiques , she is so right

Frida Giannini said in her press notes for Wednesday’s Gucci show that the “sensual colors” were meant to recall Marrakesh. But frankly, I didn’t see that. I think it’s pretty tough to evoke North Africa, or the American West, or Paris in the ’20s, without ending up with a big ball of khaki, or denim, or Lady Brett Ashley resting her head on poor Jake’s shoulder. Fashion just exploits everything, and you wind up with the YouTube version of a pair of Sahara pants.

One thing, though, that was puzzling about Ms. Giannini’s collection (oh, it was fine in the main) was that she seemed to have three separate shows in one. The opening part consisted of filmy black blouses with half-open backs worn with high-waist tulip skirts in deep purple, jade or iris blue. The outfits were nice but you wouldn’t cry over them. Then she was clearly somewhere in North Africa, with those beautiful leather Gucci jackets and soupy harem trousers we have seen enough of this year. Some of the jackets had sections thickly coated in fringe. The third mood was more exotic, with five dresses embroidered with feathers and beads; the patterns and textures evoked a standard African tribal motif as seen by Hollywood. And so we are back to the beginning.

 

[agee]

I definitely like the shapes and silhouettes of the items at the beginning of the show (except those asymmetrical halters), but those colors look loud and garish and this is coming from someone who likes color and has those colors in her closet but the combos and the shiny, shiny fabric are a bit much.

Do these kind of pants have a name? I would not quite call them hammer pants or harem pants perhaps dhoti-esque, but I wonder if they have a name beyond dropped crotch which is what I call them in my head.

I rather like the fringy - ethnic - YSL segment of the collection both the camel / neutrals and then the more colorful dresses at the end, although I did not care for the closing dress. The Studio 54 Safari ensembles are bad ***! I also liked the neutral Gucci-esque suits but they seemed to get repetitive.

All in all, thumbs up, but not an enthusiastic thumbs up.

 

[helmut.newton]

Cathy Horyn infuriates me with her biased, favoritism of certain designers and a complete disdain for others (Tisci, Giannini, etc). She is worse than the girls at Vogue / Style.com and I feel time and time again, to take a stand against her methodical prejudice.

First of all, I don't agree with her assertion that the collection was three shows in one. The common thread between the looks was exoticism and tribalism. This was manifest through each of the looks, be that through colour-blocking, texture or embroidery. The order in which the looks were shown have nothing to do with its coherence; a mere choice of the stylist or Giannini.

Second of all, I don't find it incredibly constructive to reference Hemingway or "Paris in the 20's" in a collection that is clearly not an intellectual and aesthetic pursuit of that given time period. Gucci is not Prada or Saint-Laurent, and I don't see why critics like Horyn relentlessly analyse Giannini's work in the same way they would 'intellectual' or 'conceptual' designers.

I, for one, think this collection is a perfect synthesis of Italian savoir-faire and a nice, well-rounded inspiration source.

 

[Spike413]

I don't think Horyn's wrong. The collection does seem like three separate trains of thought that may have worked in the designer's head but didn't end up translating into a coherent whole. Fact is Marrakesh has nothing to do with the Maasai tribe, which has nothing to do with Guy Bourdin or Chris von Wangenheim. Someone like Galliano, in his heyday at least, might have been able to pull of such a mix, but I don't think this collection does.

I also don't think Horyn approaches a Gucci collection the same as she would some avant garde designer, but she probably does approach it from the point of view that Gucci is a prestigious label that should be creating at a certain level. Compared to Gucci's "peers", labels like Vuitton, Versace, or Marc Jacobs, is it so weird that Gucci seems lacking?

 

[agee]

I definitely agree with the "three collections" observation but the same phenomenon of multiple collections all rolled up into one occurred at Marc Jacobs, Giles Deacon and perhaps some other shows this season, so when I noticed it at Gucci it was no biggie. I suppose I should not give Gucci a pass for it but Frida and Co. are not the first and only offender of the season.

 

[missbluejean]

^^I agree. Cathy Horyn considers a brand's past in making her reviews so I understand if she says such things as Gucci used to be about sexy innovative clothes with references that actually make sense.

She summed up my feelings in one sentence: (nytimes)

The outfits were nice but you wouldn’t cry over them.

 

[disco54]

Vogue editors are the worst !!! Cathy is the best of the critiques and she is right the vast majority of the time. Cathy has a lot of knowledge more than any of other editors i have read over the years . Her dose of reality is always welcoming .

 

[Squizree]

Did anyone read Nicole Phelps' review? It was rubbish. Horyn's review is a literary masterpiece compared to Phelps.

Anybody who expected a quiet, classic collection of neutrals in the vein of Frida Giannini's Fall show got a jolt when the first model walked out in an orange blazer, violet tube top, green pants, and gold python belt, her hair slicked and her lips a glossy red. Glamour is back at Gucci, and it looked right at home. "I pushed the accelerator on the provocation," the designer said afterward, crediting the late-seventies photographs of Guy Bourdin, David Bailey, and Chris von Wangenheim for the bold color palette. The program notes added Marakkech to her list of inspirations, which inevitably meant that Yves Saint Laurent was in the air as well.

Whether it was color-blocking or Berber accents, the fab factor was dialed way, way up. A dip-to-the-navel turquoise, jade, and black jumpsuit was as louche as they come; likewise, the asymmetrical wrapped bodices of vibrant dresses that exposed flashes of bare midriff and rib. Giannini's girls wore a safari jacket in softest suede, a fitted linen riding jacket heavily embroidered and studded around the armholes, or a T-shirt cover-up in openwork crochet—nothing plain Jane about these glamazons. Leathers were densely laced and dotted with gold hardware or fringed to the hilt (a bona fide Spring trend that began at Tom Ford, as you might recall had he not been so stingy with his collection photos). Below the waist at Gucci? Leather drop-crotch harem pants, naturally, and spiky sandals that showed off a red pedicure to match the models' lips.

Evening was similarly split: a trio of genie jumpsuits in what looked like black silk jersey with gold accents on the one hand, and on the other, jewel-tone, vaguely tribal get-your-party-on dresses. These were so ornately embellished with metal, feathers, and beads that they shimmered like candy wrappers. In other words, girls looking to get in on Spring's 1970's action (and there's a lot out there—holla, Marc Jacobs!) will find options to spare from Giannini.

 

[honeycombchild]

im just waiting for the ad camapign because the colors are stunning

At the start of the Live Feed (the behind the scenes sections, where you saw the girls having their make-up done, if you were watching one of the cameras focused on the hair department) it showed you an image on a small board that had Raquel and two black models, all very close, shoulder to shoulder, and cropped from their chest up, wearing the jewel coloured pieces from the first few looks, Gucci logo, the lot. It looked like it was a campaign image to me. I know it'd be super early to have been shot, but it wasn't from the current campaign for sure. Perhaps it's going to be the Pre campaign.

I do see a lot of the Vuitton collection from 09 in this, mostly the colour choices of that orange, and the purple; and then once again with all the tassel like ties that finish off the belts. I didn't dislike the collection, over all I think there were some nice pieces, but like the review says - there was nothing to cry over.

 

[bones]

^it's joan & karmen actually.

 

[Label Basher]

Did anyone read Nicole Phelps' review? It was rubbish. Horyn's review is a literary masterpiece compared to Phelps.

I'm guessing this dribble is from Style.com.

Is Suzy in Milan? Or Hilary.
​

 

[Squizree]

^ Yes from Style.com

I think both Suzy and Hilary are Milan regulars.

 

[disco54]

I'm guessing this dribble is from Style.com.

Is Suzy in Milan? Or Hilary.
​

Nicole phelps and Sarah Mowers reviews are soo bought lol its not even funny , besides the fact they are such b**tches. I read the review for style.com and I thought it was a joke.

 

[Jacque Marcel]

I'm guessing this dribble is from Style.com.

Is Suzy in Milan? Or Hilary.
​

Suzy wrote it was Frida's most powerful collection so far...