The House of Gucci fashion show at Milan Fashion Week raised the question: what is the point of all this dazzling flash? Is it to convince the consumer that the house of Gucci is the actual House of Gucci? The answer seems to be yes. When actress Michelle Williams was interviewed on Italian talk show La Chiesa di Ferrara in February, she talked about a lot of stuff, but the moment was definitely inspired by fashion designer Tom Ford who portrayed Preen as “an ad campaign in real life” and even invited menswear designer Tommy Hilfiger to join the reality.
This level of fashion without a conscience just seems kind of strange to me. What is the point of it? – Peter Howell
But the fashion week has a lot more meaning than simply the clothing chosen by the designers. It’s about how a new generation of people are making conscious decisions about style and their homes and wearing which clothing they need. Heidi Klum, who was the first American model to walk in a Gucci show, talked to EUROPE:The Magazine about her own Italian heritage. “I think it’s a question of style. I think as much as it’s an ethnic group, it’s a modern family,” she said.
Although as a lot of other items in the house of Gucci look alike to me, the inspiration for the Italian city of Milan is different. It looks cool with a Noho New York look, going down Crosby Street and taking in the neon signs in the history district, which houses world-famous camera maker Hasselblad. If you like this type of vibrancy, take a look at one of the new stores being constructed along Crosby Street, one of the names of the upcoming projects mentioned in a trip to Brooklyn High Line, which transformed a controversial space between a subway, a freight railroad and a street into a stunning public park.
It’s the walk-in mosaic to the Church of Santa Maria Novella or the Eva Aggeler murals that push me out of my comfort zone, but I know as soon as I reach them, they’ll get the job done.
This is a Brooklyn based play, Agoyita. Playing with heritage and making you think about how you’re going to beautify yourself. It’s Gucci at its best and which team is leading the way.
Peter Howell is an author of five books and President of the Cities Chamber of Commerce.
View all of Peter’s essays here.