The Gucci gang gets back to nature in new campaign for the brand’s first Gucci Circular Lines collection, Off the Grid
“I decided to build a new path,” said Alessandro Michele last month on the announcement of a bold new agenda for Gucci – reducing the house’s annual output from five physical shows to just two seasonless events which promise to mix mens- and womenswear. “Clothes should have a longer life than that which these words attribute to them,” the designer said as the news broke. “Above all, we understand we went way too far. Our reckless actions have burned the house we live in. We conceived of ourselves as separated from nature, we felt cunning and almighty.” Today, the latest instalment of Michele’s future-facing vision for the brand comes with the debut of Gucci’s environmentally conscious Off the Grid collection, born from the newly conceived Gucci Circular Lines initiative, which champions the practice of circular production.
The collection arrives with an idyllic campaign shot by arthouse auteur and Gucci-collaborator Harmony Korine, in which an eclectic cast of stars – including rapper Lil Nas X, Hollywood icon Jane Fonda, singer King Princess, record producer and actor Miyavi and environmentalist and explorer David de Rothschild – revel in the delights of a sunny garden in the heart of Los Angeles. In the campaign video, the stars go about an array of wholesome activities in and around a rustic treehouse as Johnny Nash’s care-free song I Can See Clearly Now plays in the background, including whittling wood, tending to some shrubs and helping each other plant seeds. “The treehouse and the simple way of life it represents becomes a powerful metaphor for the desire to escape conventional life and enjoy the experience of living more Off The Grid,” Gucci says.
Dreamy visions of a natural utopia aside, the collection marks a tangible effort to lighten the brand’s environmental footprint. “Sustainability – at all levels – involves fostering respect: respect for the people we share our planet with as well as for the environment,” the brand say. Spanning genderless luggage, accessories, footwear and ready-to-wear, most of the collection is crafted in 100 per cent regenerated nylon created from recycled ECONYL® yarn, which is formed from waste materials such as abandoned fishing nets and carpets. Other components of the Off The Grid collection are crafted from recycled materials and more sustainable alternatives such as metal-free tanned leather, recycled polyester thread and linings, recycled brass, recycled gold and palladium hardware coating, and solvent-free adhesives. Leather scraps from the collection are also recovered and upcycled as part of the Gucci-Up programme.
The new collection follows Gucci’s carbon-neutral commitment announced last September, which supports REDD+ projects that protect forests and biodiversity in vital places around the world. “The collection is the result of teamwork; everybody brought something to it,” Michele says. “And in the campaign, too, there is this idea of dialogue among people building something new. I imagined that we could build a treehouse in a city centre, all together, like kids playing in the park. Because all of us need to build this house or to find out that our planet exists, even where it seems it’s not there, or it’s far away.” Speaking to AnOther’s Alexander Fury last month about the future of fashion after the pandemic, Michele said, “this time was the time to reveal how powerful human beings are… Fashion is humanity. We are human, me, you, we are all human.”
Watch the Off The Grid campaign video here and shop the collection here.
