Gucci Men's Fall/Winter 2015

Within the past couple of months, a wave of change has swept through Gucci and this came in a rather abrupt and drastic fashion. On 12 December 2014, Creative Director Frida Giannini and CEO Paritzio di Marco both announced their departure from company. Di Marco - who is also the spouse of the Giannini - departed less than a month after the announcement and Frida was expected to show her swansong collection during the women's fashion week in Milan in March 2015. But when I saw the first few looks of the latest men's fall show, I noticed something rather unusual going on.

Firstly, the show space was different and the single runway that had been used for the past number of years was replaced by a thinner n-shaped one. When the models started coming out, the first few looks set the tone for the collection that was completely alien to what one would normally expect from Gucci. There were bows, ruffled collars, sheer fabrics including lace, loose tops and trousers, berets and open toe sandals (which was odd for a winter collection). The women's looks were pretty much outfits from the men's collection modelled by women. As the collection went on, the rest of the looks emphasised this questionable unexpected mood with a colour palette that was sombre yet bright. The models too were different. They were younger and in a sense less conformist. At this point, I began to ask, did Frida save her best for her last or had her departure taken place sooner than expected?

I have always seen Mrs Giannini as a designer who simply carried Gucci along. She kept the brand alive and made clothes that I assume did well in retail. Some seasons were better than others, especially in womenswear but I haven't been excited about a menswear collection she did since Fall 2008. So what exactly was missing from her approach? This collection provided some sort of answer to that. There was some depth here as it got under my skin, a feeling that is usually absent from her collections. There was a story behind this one. It was very poetic in a sense. The 19th century and the 1970s were time periods were inspiration was drawn from. Very minor elements from those eras were picked and infused into the designs to provide a modern offering that was thought provoking. For instance, a cropped single breasted jacket which had properties reminiscent of European military jackets of the 1800s was made to look kitsch and did away with the power such a piece was designed to exude. It put some perspective as to what message the collection was seeking to convey.

There was very visible fragility going on here. The Gucci man has been calmed down and been made made to look vulnerable, but this is not necessarily a bad thing. It's like the man has been stripped of all that forced machoness he had been paraded with over the years and is back to embracing the softer, more serene side of life. Not all will agree with this refined image but when the design team headed by Alessandro Michele took their bow at the end, it was clear that Frida had gone and a new, exciting era at Gucci had begun.

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photos:style.com