Images courtesy Gucci
“All the world’s a stage, / And all the men and women merely players; / They have their exits and their entrances; / And one man in his time plays many parts”. If Jacques from William Shakespeare’s As You Like It is to be believed, it can be safely said that as long as humans walk the earth, theatre will be alive.
The immortality of theatre, particularly when viewed in contrast to the seasonal slog of fashion shows pre-pandemic, has proved to be a deeply pertinent motif for Alessandro Michele. Gucci’s creative director is keen to incorporate the ethos of theatrical expression into the house’s universe, divulging in a recent interview that he’s “been trying to think of the fashion show as a kind of theatre”.
The brand’s latest ‘Epilogue’ campaign aims to shift the viewer’s gaze and question their perceived understanding of the rules, roles and liturgies that have come to define fashion. One very visible shift that has been made for this campaign is the tripling up of roles that has been done by Gucci’s design team: in the verve of Fringe theatre, the garment designers feature as both models and crew in ‘Epilogue’.
Images courtesy Gucci
‘Epilogue’, which is filmed by Damiano and Fabio D’Innocenzo, in Rome’s Palazzo Sacchetti and Campo Boario area, concludes the narrative arc that began in February with the house’s ‘An Unrepeatable Ritual’ show. Michele drew the curtains back (pun intended) to reveal a runway that served up backstage preparations as the main course. Ever the storyteller, Michele continued this attitude of inversion in May with the release of The Ritual campaign—embracing the Work From Home constraints of the time, the campaign shows Gucci models display new collection pieces from the pseudo familiar surroundings of their homes.
The “messy beauty” of Michele’s Gucci is an aesthetic both strived for and achieved in its runway looks, but pre-pandemic the label’s campaigns have lacked the same sense of symphonic chaos. One thing is clear, in an era of quiet time for humanity, the signature Gucci loudness is not going anywhere.
Images courtesy Gucci
Watch the Gucci ‘Epilogue’ campaign below: