Space theatricality and references to the Middle Ages and Star Wars: How was the Gucci cruise show at Castell del Monte?

Iridescent night sky, stars and medieval castle of Castell del Monte. No, this isn’t the beginning of a new Dune or the continuation of the iconic Star Wars saga, it’s a Gucci cruise show called Cosmogonie taking place tonight in Puglia.

Alessandro Michele, the creative director of the brand, which always attaches special importance to theatricality, outdid himself this time. The space show begins with the astronauts speaking on the radio, followed by classical music by Polish composer Abel Kozeniewski combined with barely audible techno beats.

The 13th-century octagonal castle was transformed into a starry sky during the show, and eventually holograms of constellations and ancient maps appeared on its walls. Accompanied by the smoke of the theatre, the mannequins stepped straight from the castle onto the podium, spread around the medieval architectural marvel.

As for the collection itself, the most diverse eras and cultures are harmoniously intertwined. The show features frills (ruffle collars) of the late Middle Ages and hairstyles that clearly refer to Princess Leia from Star Wars, and high society ladies of the 18th-19th century. in pictures of old girls. And of course, the alien glasses are a bit (to be honest, too much) reminder of what Balenciaga did.

By the way, there were a lot of references. The most attentive viewers noticed that the decor on black jeans is very similar to the decor on the trousers from Tom Ford’s SS1999 collection. But Michele’s velvet dress with mother-of-pearl buttons was inspired by the costumes of London’s “pearl” kings.

Also in the ship collection were many vivid quotes from the Italian folk theater Сommedia dell’arte, or rather Arlekino. By the way, this is not the first time that Alessandro Michele refers to the character of the Italian comedy. The image of Arlekino first appeared on the catwalk in the fall-winter 2019 collection.

This time Michele put a special emphasis on jewellery. The designer suggests wearing large earrings with a string of pearls wrapped in several (dozens) layers, a cuff that goes to the lip.

The collection turned out to be truly cosmic (and we’re not just talking about astrology now). Therefore, we propose to consider it more closely.

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