WWD Thursday June 10, 2004
On Safari
NEW YORK — Sex sells. At least it has for Gucci, which is why Alessandra Facchinetti has no intention of ushering in an era of dramatic change at the house. Not surprisingly, then, Facchinetti’s resort collection is all about steam, whether or not a girl finds herself in the tropics.
“Obviously, the Gucci point is to be sexy, glamorous and confident,” Facchinetti said last week during the first American meet-and-greet of her Gucci reign. She explained that she wanted to infuse the collection with a casual attitude appropriate for the resort season, while keeping in mind that “the Gucci woman loves to dress up. So it’s sexy, it’s strong. And she’s still glam, anyway.”
That means hypersexy shapes with an emphasis on small, intricately worked jackets and skirts embroidered or otherwise embellished for surface interest — all with that look of in-heat audacity so familiar within a Gucci collection. Facchinetti called the mood “exotic safari,” and said she was inspired by traditional resort locales, such as Capri, Marrakech and Palm Beach. She felt strongly about working in a gentle, feminine palette and sought “a new way to express reflection. The colors come from the sunset — yellows, pinks. And the green comes from the jade.” And she lavished the clothes with extras, embroideries, mirrors, draping collars, because “it is important always to find some pieces in Gucci that, you know, you die for it.”
Facchinetti was determined to maintain the intrinsic elements of the Gucci identity throughout the collection. “I believe in it,” she said. “I love Gucci. I love how it was before. All of the things you can find that are different are just a part of the fashion system, the natural process of change. But that doesn’t mean that the woman is someone else. She’s still the same.”
To that end, Facchinetti downplayed the transfer of design power from Ford. Asked to articulate the point of departure between Ford and herself, she hesitated. “That is a difficult question,” she said. “When I worked with Tom, obviously, that was Tom’s work. I just tried to translate his requests, his feeling. But the good thing is that I always felt very close to him, and I really always liked his point of view. Obviously, I’m a different person, so probably you will see some difference. But with Tom, I really had the opportunity to also express myself and my tastes. Working with him was a great experience.”
Unlike Yves Saint Laurent’s Stefano Pilati, who plans to leave the Rodin Museum, come showtime, Facchinetti will present her spring and fall collections in Ford’s former venue, the Diana Majestic Hotel. “Obviously, it should be something new because it’s a new season,” she said of her runway debut for spring, “but not because Tom is not here anymore. It’s just a new approach because we are working on a new collection.”
One that will be expected to keep the brand’s $1.75 billion-a-year engine running as usual, a mandate Facchinetti recognizes as daunting. “I am just trying to be this strong leader, and I hope that helps to continue the success at the company,” she said.
Facchinetti recalled with fondness the closeness of the Ford team, and said that the seemingly endless negotiations were hard on everyone, as was saying goodbye. Now the atmosphere has settled into something approaching normal — with the enormous caveat of responsibility for Facchinetti. “Everyone is superexcited, everyone really wants to do the best, obviously,” she said. “Now, there is a great atmosphere.”
Facchinetti has not yet met president and chief executive officer Robert Polet. She finds Serge Weinberg and François-Henri Pinault very approachable, although most of her business dealings are with Giacomo Santucci, Gucci brand ceo. She said she never expected to get the nod as women’s wear designer for the house, and is thrilled by the vote of confidence. “I’m completely free to do what I want,” she said. “Obviously, we work very closely with merchandising, with business people. We all work together to decide what we want to do, the new ideas. So we have a great relationship. But, really, I’m pleased.”
As for the much-discussed “team approach” to design, at least through the resort process, it worked like a charm, especially in regard to her relationship with accessories designer Frida Giannini. “We work very well together,” Facchinetti said. “But it’s something that we really started when Tom was there. We always had a meeting together, to speak about what we thought, what we wanted to do. Now, obviously, we’ve become closer together, especially with Frida. I have a great relationship with her. We start in the beginning with a meeting to discuss the mood. We really work as a team.”
Facchinetti plays down the possibility that the camaraderie might be challenged come campaign time. Here again, she expects to collaborate smoothly with Giannini and men’s wear designer John Ray when it comes to photographer and model selection and mood. “We will all be involved,” she said. “It’s definitely a new thing for us, but it starts, anyway, from the sense of the collection.” She hedged when asked whether the advertising would continue with the blatant sexuality of the Ford campaigns. “We’ll see,” she said. “It’s a little early to say that.”
For now, Facchinetti just wants to take her new position and newfound celebrity day by day. She knows she has an enormous act to follow, and the best way to do it is with a cool head and an aura of authority. “I know I need to be calm,” she said. “Obviously, there are moments when I’m not, which is normal. But I try to really take that part of myself inside, without really expressing it.”
— Bridget Foley
...love the rolled up pants as well...i've been doing that with my white cargos... 
...GREEN!!!.... 
