ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD

There are few brands with the power to close down Los Angeles’ Hollywood Boulevard and turn the Hollywood Walk of Fame into a catwalk̶which is exactly what Gucci did on a fine Tuesday night to showcase its latest collection. It was the Maison’s first in-person event since the start of the pandemic, and the message was clear: partywear is most definitely back, and with his collection dubbed Love Parade, Michele is making a clear play for next year’s Oscars red carpet. Not only that, the label is not short of celebrity support as there were A-list celebrities spotted on both the catwalk and front row. Even if the setting and models hadn’t conveyed that this was an homage to old Hollywood glamour, the clothes certainly did̶featuring fashion’s boldest looks complete with tiaras, satin suits, feather boas, and aviator glasses for its Spring Summer 2022 collection. For Creative Director Alessandro Michele though, the thread of inspiration ran deeper than the Golden Age of Hollywood. He decided to honour his mother this season as he thought of his childhood in 1970s Rome, and the stories he was told about the film industry by his dear mother, who worked as an assistant at a production company. In fact, he initially wanted to become a costume designer, but film’s loss was fashion’s gain. With that inspiration came an array of cowboy hats, lace pants, brightcoloured blazers, powder-pop furs, flower embroideries and many more. Besides that, it’s always fun to see Harry Styles rock a gender-bending Gucci look on the red carpet.