Gucci Fall 2018 features disembodied heads, baby dragons and more
Although unofficial, it's every designer's goal to one-up each other during fashion week in an attempt to claim the "most impressive/unforgettable show" title and Alessandro Michele is off to a great headstart with the Gucci Fall/Winter 2018 collection.
Moving past the mythical set of Spring 2018, this season sees Alessandro upping the ante and surprising us with a clinical-themed show, starting with a bio-hazard looking "countdown timer" as the show invite.
Held at the Gucci Hub, the set was one inspired by medical operating theatre and filled with three-eyed models, snakes and dragons.
And here are our show notes for the collection:
Titled "Cyborg", the collection's show notes says, "Gucci Cyborg is post-human: it has eyes on its hands, faun horns, dragon’s puppies and doubling heads."
Hence, we witnessed a legion of transhumans parading down the runway with the exact description as above – models carrying replicas of their own heads, another with a pet dragon and even one with three eyes.
This was Alessandro's way of translating the way we construct ourselves in this era – be it physically on a surgeon table or virtually on the many filters and apps we use.
He says, "We are the Dr Frankenstein of our lives. There’s a clinical clarity about what I am doing."
Doubling down as a political statement to break gender binaries, the collection, he says, "We exist to reproduce ourselves, but we have moved on. We are in a post-human era, for sure; it is underway. Now, we have to decide what we want to be."
Taking inspiration from cultures around the world, the Gucci Fall 2018 sees a variety of unique nuances, from Sikh to South American Indigenous and even medieval Europe.
Quite literally, there was something from almost every time period. Think Pagoda-like headpieces, nipple tassels, chainmail jewellery and Japanese shoujo manga characters.
There were also Chinese pyjamas, Russian babushka doll prints and English tweed, all surrounding signature Gucci silhouettes.
Of all that we saw, our favourites are the headwraps that come in the form of scarves, ski masks, and beanies; and also the massive chainmail-like jewellery pieces.
Not to mention, the bulky sneakers that were splashed across the floor on the models' feet and Americana logo sweats and jackets featuring Paramount Pictures and The New York Yankees.
In short, it's a collection that will linger on social media for months to come as everyone lust for its arrival come September 2018.
(Swipe below for a selection of looks we love)
The show was held at the Gucci Hub in Milan, which was transformed into a turquoise operating theatre complete with PVC on the walls and floors, and emergency exits.
And surrounding it is rows of plastic chairs we see often at waiting halls at hospitals or any other medical facilities.
LED lighting came in the form of surgical examination lamps. According to Gucci, "The concept reflects the work of a designer—the act of cutting, splicing and reconstructing materials and fabrics to create a new personality and identity with them."
Alessandro also adds, "I was thinking of a space that represents the creative act. I wanted to represent the lab I have in my head. It’s physical work, like a surgeon’s."
And above all that shocked the world at the Gucci Fall 2018 show, the one that was all the buzz on social media was that infant dragon in the arms of a model wearing an all-black two-piece that is embellished to mirror polka-dot prints, which calls to mind Daenerys Stormborn, the Mother of Dragons.
Game of Thrones references aside, that look was one that burned into our memory quite literally, along with the disembodied heads, chameleons, snakes and more, all of which are produced by Makinarium, a special visual effects factory in Rome.
