INSIDE JOB

Alessandro Michele’s assertive trademarks aren’t limited to Gucci’s sturdyheeled shoes or jackets with expertly cut sleeves. The brand recently unveiled Gucci Décor, a collection of items designed to adorn living rooms and dressing tables while sharing the vibrancy that has come to distinguish his wearable pieces. “He loves abundance,” says Neiman Marcus’s Ken Downing. “[He has an] ability to create this romantic, effusive abundance that captures the imagination and draws you in.” That extravagant sensibility lends itself especially well to décor; it’s easy to imagine a single statement piece accenting an otherwise understated room. The collection includes ornamental pillows, trays, richly lacquered chairs with embroidered cushions, and small tables, all made in Italy. It features many of Michele’s bold signatures: embroidered images of animals, such as slithering serpents or roaring lions; the use of rich velvet; and a vivid palette that includes colors immutably associated with Gucci’s heritage, like crimson red and bright green. Among the line’s standouts are the deeply scented candles encased in decorative porcelain vessels (which are designed to be keepsakes long after the fragrant wax has burned off). The elegant containers are made by Richard Ginori, a centuries-old producer of china, founded, like Gucci, in Florence. Ginori is, not coincidentally, owned by the same parent company, and for the last few years Michele has overseen that brand’s creative direction in addition to his duties at Gucci. 900 North Michigan Shops, 312664-5504; gucci.com