Gucci Spring Summer 05

[Sugo]

wait
I thought it was a woman designing it or two women...not Tom Ford anymore

 

[LostInNJ]

Gucci floats into new, feminine age
Thu 30 September, 2004 20:28

By Jane Barrett

MILAN (Reuters) - Gucci has floated into a new era of femininity as the house known for its high-octane sex appeal showed its first women's collection since the departure of star designer Tom Ford.

His successor Alessandra Facchinetti said she was so nervous that she had hardly slept in the run-up to the spring/summer 2005 show, but was "super-happy" with the outcome.

The response from the fashion crowd was slightly more muted, with some saying the men's collection, now designed by John Ray, had managed to keep more of the Ford-era sultriness.

The new Gucci-girl look was much looser than the super-sexy curve-clinging creations Ford used to turn a tatty Florentine leather label into one of the world's most desirable brands.

Out went the hip-hugging skirts and drainpipe trousers, in came knee-length skirts with flapper fringes flowing down them and cigarette pants in blush, deep rose and pale sage.

A series of sexy, feminine, sequin-studded dresses set Gucci up as the new darling of the Hollywood red carpet -- the highest-profile billboard in the world.

Yards of chiffon were folded and tucked around the bottom like a stylishly set sarong while neat bodices left the back bare, but for a bikini or bra strap to hold them in place.

"It was young, sexy and exciting. She's carrying on a great tradition," said Glenda Bailey, editor of Harper's Bazaar.

Facchinetti, who worked at Prada before taking a job under Ford in 2000, said she wanted to keep the Gucci girl sexy and confident but to add "femininity and romanticism".

The two trends met in the swimwear department with micro bikinis that only confident women could wear, veiled by low-cut chiffon shirts.

Top executives from Gucci and its French parent PPR will have been pleased with oversized handbags made from studded crocodile skin and tiny pearled evening clutches that will replenish the profit-pumping accessories shelves.

"Morale in the company is very strong, which is important because it is a people-based industry. But you also need the product," PPR Chairman Serge Weinberg said before the show.

Gucci's new Chief Executive Robert Polet, who took over from Domenico De Sole in June, is due to unveil a new strategic plan for the world's third-largest luxury goods group in December.

De Sole and Ford -- known in the business as Dom and Tom -- left Gucci after failing to agree new contracts with PPR, which refused to give them carte blanche over Gucci's 10 brands.

It makes me wonder if anyone will ever really accept the new Gucci...

 

[PrinceOfCats]

You can buy a nicer copy of 'the McQueen jacket' (modular/mondrian panelling detail) in M&S limited collection for £65

The rest is a mess...even TF did those awful corset belts better than this...

 

[LostInNJ]

Some more pics:

 

[LostInNJ]

 

[mikeijames]

i'm sorry...but where is this new looseness? looks as tight as ever to me....maybe i need to see more

 

[Lena]

Originally posted by softgrey@Sep 30 2004, 08:22 PM
so far the jackets by themselves are strong pieces...even if they look more like mcqueen than gucci.....it's just too inconsistent from these first images....

thanks for posting kimair!!!

[snapback]381084[/snapback]​

ditto softgrey
very mcQueen indeed and a tiny bit of Donatella for the sex of it

bit horrible & sluttish from what i've seen so far, and so dated..

'new era of feminity'?
could they mean 'new era of sluttiness'?

thanks a bunch for the quick report kimair & jostinNJ

 

[BCBG freak]

"said she wanted to keep the Gucci girl sexy and confident but to add "femininity and romanticism". "

you must be kidding me, right?
i see no femininity nor any romanticism.


it looks all very sl*tty to me, and i hate the 'rich-girl-meets-motorcycle-gang-member' theme.


oh tom, why did you leave us here...?

 

[fashionaddict1]

I find it quite tacky, it seems to have lost any cool factor - where are the bags?

Although i hadn't liked it under Ford from the last couple of seasons anyway

Finding Milan quite disapointing so far, actually enjoyed NY and London more (amazing I know)
Sure Paris will come up with the goods

 

[meowmix]

Originally posted by softgrey@Sep 30 2004, 03:22 PM
oy... ...what a mess...!!!
all over the place is right...pubic triangles...

so far the jackets by themselves are strong pieces...even if they look more like mcqueen than gucci...but i will have to see more before being able to assess this one...it's just too inconsistent from these first images....

thanks for posting kimair!!!

[snapback]381084[/snapback]​

couldn't put into words what i really thought of this, but my sentiments exactly, softgrey all over the place, not seeing an overall theme... as for the individual pieces i'm seeing more misses than hits... perhaps they're keeping tom's influence in this collection so as not to alienate customers, but it seems people will see it as 'not quite tom'...furthermore is this approach really "carrying on the (gucci) tradition?"...and i definitely agree with BCBG, i'm also failing to see the "femininity and romanticism" in this

 

[orlem]

I really wanted to keep an open mind for Gucci because of the new designers but I'm disappointed

looks like they are trying to do a continutation of Ford and that means failing to reenergize what was very tired in the first place

 

[kimair]

it definitely seems like a mish-mash of past Gucci collections...not cohesive at all.

Here's more pics:

 

[Acid]

the little jackets are GORGEOUS!!!!!

i can see gwyneth paltrow and kate moss screaming with joy when they see those

the dresses arent so good IMO though

 

[fashionaddict1]

Originally posted by kimair@Sep 30 2004, 04:13 PM
it definitely seems like a mish-mash of past Gucci collections...not cohesive at all.

Here's more pics:

[snapback]381208[/snapback]​

Don't like the bags either, trying too hard - bags look a bit Fendi (not a compliment)

 

[Tinetush]

I don't like it. I don't like it at all!
But then again, I have nerver liked Gucci

 

[pradaromance]

hmmm, not too impressed...

to me, this is what the fendi collection should have looked like...

not sure if i am too impressed...

 

[wyatt.]

it looks fine to me. remember that the first collection will be a litle hesitant.

 

[kimair]

another review:

Post-Ford Gucci woman still a sexy, free spirit

MILAN (AFP) - The Gucci woman is still a sexy, free spirit, despite the departure of Tom Ford, who took the brand to mega-stardom.

Faced with the unenviable task of following in her former master's footsteps, Alessandra Facchinetti opted wisely for continuity with her debut ready-to-wear collection as creative director of women's wear for summer 2005, shown late Thursday.

All the familiar house hallmarks were there, like the crocodile skin turned into scooped-neck blousons and straight coats, or cut up into pieces like a jigsaw puzzle to decorate skirts.

The contours were basically 1950s but much more complex, with cut-outs as fine as if they had been executed with a scalpel, appliques and inserts of pleating and ruching. Evening wear sparkled with jewels, embellished with silk macrame and pearls.

The 32-year-old designer admitted she was "relieved" after the show. "These last few days were a nightmare. Now it will get better," she told AFP.

Francois-Henri Pinault, president of Artemis, the holding group of the luxury and distribution group PPR which controls Gucci, was in raptures. "She has kept the spirit of Gucci while imbuing it with her style. A star is born."

Serge Weinberg, chairman of the board of PPR and responsible for the choice of Ford's successors, echoed Pinault: "Alessandra is a Gucci woman through and through. It's still Gucci and it's always renewing itself."

But the enthusiasm among the women's magazines was a notch lower. "You got the feeling that Tom was just on holiday. There hasn't been any break," was one view. Another: "Alessandra has done a good job but it is like someone who has learnt after practising at lot. Let's see what she does with time." In other words, the jury is out until the next show in February.

 

[datura001]

The bare runway floor with no fur or flowers or anything just looks so damn weird! She'll be good when the higher ups stop making her nervous and let her get some sleep. The hair doesn't work for me.

 

[LostInNJ]

it looks fine to me. remember that the first collection will be a litle hesitant.

Very true. Remember Stella McCartney when she was designing on her own? It took her a few collections, but she got there.