If there was ever any doubt that Gucci knows how to make scene, the Italian luxury house quashed them last night. Just weeks before a Ridley Scott-helmed, Lady Gaga and Adam Driver-led blockbuster about the Florentine fashion icon lands, Gucci dropped a juicy new collection, and where else but the sidewalk of downtown LA? Entitled Love Parade, Alessandro Michele’s stunning spring 2022 show evoked a touch of Old Hollywood glamour, not necessarily the 1920’s heyday variety, but more the ’70s sartorial-sporty urban cowboy kind. And Hollywood ate it up.
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Sitting smack bang on Hollywood Boulevard, just in front of the Chinese Theater were a number of Hollywood elites, from Miranda July and Jodie Turner-Smith to Gwyneth Paltrow, who, in a fitting tribute, wore the same Tom Ford-designed red velvet Gucci tux she made famous in 1996, albeit with a few modern touches. But star power wasn’t relinquished to the audience.
In a nod to the upcoming House of Gucci film, one of the stars themselves, Jared Leto walked the nonchalant runway, sporting an oversized double-breasted herringbone jacket with white stitched leather pants and matching boots. However, it was a different star that ruled the runway at Gucci’s Love Parade reveal. Home Alone actor Macaulay Culkin stole the show, wearing a Hawaiian-print shirt coupled with a colourful bomber jacket and oversized khaki slacks. The look was finished with a white belt that came complete with the iconic Gucci buckle, for good measure.
In essence, the Gucci Love Parade Collection speaks to a bygone era, blending influences from decades ago. From the subtle touch of Rita Hayworth to the more overt inspiration of Veronica Lake, Michele’s vision was one of glamour in a new age. Transformative by nature, but traditional by design.
“I remember all the stories she told me, and the details and the sparkles, about that dream factory. There was the alabaster paleness of Marilyn Monroe and her diaphanous voice,” Michele told Harpers Bazaar. “There were the black satin gloves of Rita Hayworth and Veronica Lake’s velvet hair, as well as the bewitching allure of Rock Hudson and Kim Novak’s dizzying transformative power. Everything felt like a fairy tale.”
Naturally, Los Angeles made for the perfect backdrop. The city of Angels, where fairy tales are born and more often than not, laid to rest, set the perfect scene for Michele’s ode to old Hollywood. In a sense, Gucci’s Love Parade isn’t just a new collection that sports cowboy hats for the fun of it, it’s a message that all dreams must be wrangled.
“This boulevard of stars lends perfect support to my uncurbed love for the classical world,” Michele said. “Hollywood is, after all, a Greek temple populated by pagan divinities. Here actors and actresses are acknowledged as heroes of the myth: hybrid creatures with the power to hold divine transcendence and mortal existence at the same time.”
The Gucci Love Parade Collection is available now via the Italian fashion house’s official boutiques and online.