The long-established Italian brand Gucci parted ways with its creative director, Alessandro Michele, in November 2022. Alessandro Michele gave his last salute and stepped off the stage.
Now, there is talk about how Kering, the owner of Gucci, will fill this big gap.
Michele was 43 years old when he took the seat of Gucci's chief designer. Instead of following the elegant and distant design style of Tom Ford (1990-2004) and Frida Giannini (2004-2015), who was the creative director of the brand before him, he took a big risk and became one of the few names that shaped the fashion sense of the 2000s.
How has Alessandro Michele changed fashion in the last seven years?
If the whole world is talking about gender equality today and clothes with blurred gender lines are preferred more, Alessandro Michele certainly has a share in this. The designer has emphasized gender-neutral fashion since his first collection at Gucci. In the fashion show where the brand introduced its Autumn/Winter 2015-16 men's collection, men walked the runway in fluffy, cat-shaped tops. He provided the dynamic change between feminine and masculine fashion without sacrificing colors.
Alessandro Michele (born 25 November 1972) is an Italian fashion designer who most recently served as the creative director of Gucci, the Italian fashion luxury house where he had been working since 2002. Known for his maximalist designs, Alessandro Michele revived Gucci's popularity most notably with a Geek-Chic aesthetic. He had been responsible for all of Gucci's collections and global brand image from January 2015 until he stepped down from the role in November 2022.
Hip-hop and Gucci rose together. The best criticism of vulgar luxury consumption was again made from the 'inside'. Those who do rap and hip-hop took on this job with pleasure. Mentioning the brand in their songs where they use slang and profanity a lot, the musicians preferred clothes with the big Gucci logo in their clips.
There is always a 'vintage' fan of old clothes. But it would take guts to place vintage at the heart of a luxury fashion brand. Alessandro Michele did just that. He also made a great contribution to the rise of the second-hand trend and eclectic fashion taste.
Removed fur, questioned overproduction
It was again the decision of Alessandro Michele for Gucci to completely remove the fur in 2017. In 2019, it made changes in the supply chain in production to reduce carbon emissions within the framework of the climate crisis. In 2020, he released an environmental collection called Off The Grid. The creative director became one of the names who questioned and said that the fashion industry was overproducing.
Farewell MESSAGE:
There are times when paths part ways because of the different perspectives each one of us may have. Today an extraordinary journey ends for me, lasting more than twenty years, within a company to which I have tirelessly dedicated all my love and creative passion. During this long period Gucci has been my home, my adopted family. To this extended family, to all the individuals, who have looked after and supported it, I send my most sincere thanks, my biggest and most heartfelt embrace. Together with them I have wished, dreamed, imagined. Without them, none of what I have built would have been possible. To them goes my most sincerest wish: may you continue to cultivate your dreams, the subtle and intangible matter that makes life worth living. May you continue to nourish yourselves with poetic and inclusive imagery, remaining faithful to your values. May you always live by your passions, propelled by the wind of freedom.
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Life story
Born in Rome on November 25, 1972, Michele is a graduate of the Academy of Costume And Fashion. Alessandra Michele, who spent his childhood between films and sculptures due to his family's work, first started working at Les Copains Knitwear after his graduation.
He later worked with Fendi under the creative directorship of Karl Lagerfeld and Silvia Venturini Fendi. He was hired to design bags for the brand at the time of Gucci's Tom Ford. On January 21, 2015, Gucci announced that its new creative director is Alessandro Michele.
Dressing Lana Del Rey for the Met Gala in 2018, Michele successfully reflected his Renaissance inspiration in his design. Michele, who has designed clothes for Elton John as well as many famous names, explained in an interview how his success took him beyond his dreams, saying, "I once dreamed of meeting John, but now dressing him is not a feeling that can be described in words."