HELLO ZUMI
Meet the unconventional woman behind Gucci’s latest handbag
Scrolling through Los Angelesbased musician and jewellery designer Zumi Rosow’s Instagram account, it’s clear that she’s captured the imagination of Gucci’s creative director Alessandro Michele. Zumi, who plays the saxophone in Atlanta-based garage rock band Black Lips, has a magpie approach to throwing on an outfit. Boxy oversized blazers, layered with multiple gold jewels, offset with her signature mullet hair do, black Egyptian-inspired eyeliner and red lips. It’s an approach to individual style not unlike Alessandro’s own stylistic direction for Gucci — whimsical, charming and
unapologetically excessive.
Debuting last October during Paris Fashion Week — when the label transplanted its usual show in Milan to Montmartre at the famous Le Palace night club — the Gucci Zumi bag appeared on the runway slung over the shoulder of its namesake, who was wearing a leather jacket and matching trousers over a black and gold bodysuit. The contrast between Zumi’s rock n roll attitude and the bag’s startling ladylike shape reinforced Alessandro’s unique and inclusive vision for the brand.
“I constantly day-dream about the Gucci show I walked in, wishing it hadn’t already happened so I could do it again,” says Zumi on the handbag’s debut. “I was vibrating with an intense amount of anxiety and nervous excitement, which sort of felt like my heart was pumping out glitter instead of blood, which was now twinkling through my veins. To be a participating element in this super-intense, highly charged illuminated, magical moment! Like an eclipse, happening so fast. The whole thing sort of feels like burning sparklers. They burn super-hot, fast, and bright, beautiful, illuminating everything, giving life. And then boom, it’s over.
“The energy from the now-gone brilliant light still hums in the air. Sometimes I play shows with my bands that can feel like that too, I don’t always get nervous when I play shows, but I like it when I do. If you can harness it, it’s a useful energy boost.”
The handbag itself is far more restrained in its style. Unlike some of Gucci’s other handbags, Zumi is free of embellishment, monogram patterns and print — although a pop art inspired strawberry print on some versions of the bag is a fun addition. Combining two of the most historical house motifs, the Interlocking G and Horsebit hardware, a new small Zumi tote,
inspired by a Gucci vintage bag from the 60s, was also presented during the spring/summer 2019 show and comes exclusively in crocodile and lizard skins. The Zumi’s top-handle shape in grainy leather is offered in two sizes, medium and small, and all the bags in this style have a detachable, adjustable leather shoulder strap — perfect for anyone whose style sensibilities run the gamut from prim twin sets to denim and leather separates.
The practical interior is composed of a zipped compartment and a zipped pocket.
Since his debut there in 2015, Alessandro has transformed the house into one of the most inclusive luxury brands in the world, appealing to not only its traditional customer base, but to a new generation of fans hankering after his more whimsical designs. Bejewelled sneakers and graffiti versions of the classic Gucci monogram print are just some examples of his risks that have paid off. His ode to old-school counterfeit goods with a unique collaboration featuring Harlem-based haberdasher Dapper Dan proved a successful collaboration and opened up the brand to a new audience. Alessandro’s ability to combine multiple references and creative people from all walks of life has made Gucci highly desired and lucrative. Profits for the house doubled in 2018, with global revenue reaching approximately 8.3 billion euros.
As for his latest muse, she’s in keeping with that successful formula of pushing the boundaries and offering a suprising mix of the traditional and the radical. “The first place I want to take Gucci Zumi is the Huntington Rose Garden tea room, and then Musso and Frank, which happens to be the oldest restaurant in Los Angeles,” says Zumi. “It’s an old haunt established back in 1919. It has and still brings out a fascinating regular clientele from the likes of Charlie Chaplin to today, with patrons like Kenneth Anger who is one of my heroes and also a fellow Gucci muse. Supposedly he likes to go on Thursdays for the daily special, which is the delicious chicken pot pie. You may find me there then, lurking in the shadows among the beautiful tufted leather booths and wood panelling, hopefully catching a glimpse of Kenneth when he is in his element.”
The Gucci Zumi bag is available now from Gucci Queen St. (09) 368 1138