Marking a return to the country where Alessandro Michele showed his first cruise collection for the house, Gucci is heading Stateside for its next cruise show
In 2015, Gucci staged its Cruise 2016 runway show – the first cruise collection under creative director Alessandro Michele – at the Dia Art Foundation in New York City. In the five years since, Michele has transported and shown his cruise collections across the globe: at Westminster Abbey, London, in 2016, the ancient site of Alyscamps, Arles, in 2018, and in Rome’s Capitoline Museum earlier this year. This week, it’s been announced that Gucci will return to America this coming May for its Cruise 2021 show. While an exact state or location is yet to be confirmed, the house has previously chosen historical buildings and landmarks for its pre-collection shows.
Michele has cited American cultural icons as influences on his work at Gucci: from country queen Dolly Parton (whose likeness was printed on various garments for Spring/Summer 2019) to cult New York designer Dapper Dan. “I’m trying to speak to the world, to everyone,” Michele told Susannah Frankel in the Spring/Summer 2018 issue of AnOther Magazine. In the same interview, the designer attributes his love for Jean Harlow, the original Hollywood platinum blonde, to his mother’s love for 1950s cinema.
After his Spring/Summer 2020 show, held in September in Milan, Michele professed: “I’m afraid of getting bored. I always have to try something new.” Where exactly will this take him? You’ll just have to wait and see.