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FASHION

Milan Fashion Week opens with Gucci models carrying their own heads

Gucci kicked off Milan Fashion Week in typical eccentric style on Wednesday as models carried replicas of their own heads on a runway transformed into a creepy operating room.

Published: 22 February 2018 13:55 CET
Milan Fashion Week opens with Gucci models carrying their own heads
Gucci's operating theatre-themed catwalk at Milan Fashion Week 2018. Photo: Filippo Monteforte/AFP

Suspense had already been building for the show by Gucci's star creative director Alessandro Michele due to the invitations – orange timers which counted down to the event in glowing red numbers.

The first shock came when it started on time – almost unprecedented in fashion history.


Photo: Filippo Monteforte/AFP

Then male and female models walked onto a runway amid operating tables under bright neon lights in the Gucci Hub, the brand's Milan headquarters, over the steady beeping of a heart monitoring machine.

Michele introduced the “Cyborg Gucci” in the Fall/Winter 2018-2019 collection, which included a wild mix of cultures and symbols, from a pagoda hat to a balaclava, a classic burgundy velvet dress to a gold lurex jacket, fine lace to the logo of the New York Yankees.

The models added to the transgressive vibe – not only did some carry replicas of their own severed head, but others were adorned with a third eye, or even a baby dragon.

 
 Photo: Filippo Monteforte/AFP

“What touches me is not just the talent but also the dose of humour and self-deprecation on the part of Alessandro Michele,” said actress Chiara Mastroianni.

“His collection is so rich it will take time to understand everything,” she said.

 
 A majorette theme at N21. Photo: Filippo Monteforte/AFP

Another first day highlight was the launch of the exhibition “Italiana: Italy Through the Lens of Fashion 1971-2001” by the National Chamber for Italian Fashion.

Donatella Versace, Giorgio Armani, Pierpaolo Piccioli, Silvia Venturini Fendi and Jean-Paul Gaultier were some of the stars attending at the Palazzo Reale.

 
 Models were painted blue and green at Moschino. Photo: Miguel Medina/AFP

The exhibition was organised by theme – Identity, Democracy, Logomania, Diorama, Project Room, Bazaar, Post-Production, Glocal and The Italy of Objects – and included the clothes by fashion houses such as Missoni, Armani, Versace, Krizia, Romeo Gigli and Gianfranco Ferre.

“There is no nostalgic intention but rather pride and willingness to celebrate fashion and reproduce its complexity,” said curator Maria-Luisa Frisa.

“Italian fashion is a creative laboratory that has generated worlds, defined strong individual characteristics… and continues to do so today,” she added.


Volume at Annakiki. Photo: Marco Bertorello/AFP

READ ALSO: Forget Milan: Why Florence is the cradle of Italian fashion

By Isabelle Sciamma

 

FASHION

Paris exhibition celebrates 100 years of French Vogue

A new exhibition in Paris will tell the story of 100 years of French Vogue - from the post-war 'New Look' of Christian Dior through the sexual liberation of the 1960s to the dangling-cigarette waifs of the 2000s.

Published: 7 October 2021 08:21 CEST
French Vogue celebrates 100 years
French Vogue celebrates 100 years. Photo: Thomas Olva/AFP

But as well as celebrating the magazine’s storied history, the exhibit comes at a time of turbulence for the publication.

Just last month, it was confirmed that its editor of 10 years, Emmanuelle Alt, was out and wouldn’t be replaced.

She was not alone.

Looking to cut costs, owner Conde Nast International has axed editors across Europe over the past year, and put international Vogue editions under the direct control of global editorial director, Anna Wintour, in New York.

New York-based Anna Wintour now has overall control of French Vogue. Photo by Christophe ARCHAMBAULT / AFP

Like much of the media industry, Vogue is struggling with tumbling sales and ad revenue in the digital era.

But the latest twist is also part of the endless push and pull between New York and Paris going back to its early days.

“The whole history of French Vogue is one of back-and-forth with Conde Nast in New York – growing more independent for a while, then being reined back in,” said Sylvie Lecallier, curator of the new exhibition, “Vogue Paris 1920-2020″, which opened this weekend after a year’s delay due to the pandemic.

The Paris edition was often the loftier, more bohemian sibling to its more hard-nosed New York version.

But it was also the hotbed in which much of 20th century style and womenhood came to be defined.

“Paris was the place to hunt out talent and content and bring it to New York,” said Lecallier.

The exhibition charts the evolution from art deco drawings of the 1920s through the erotic image-making of photographers like Helmut Newton in the 1960s and 1970s.

Its last peak was under editor Carine Roitfeld in the 2000s, who brought back a provocative Gallic identity by ridding the newsroom of foreign staff and becoming a fashion icon in her own right.

Her successor, Alt, was a quieter presence, though she still oversaw key moments including its first transgender cover star, Brazilian Valentina Sampaio, in 2017.

But internet culture has created “a perfect storm” for Vogue, says media expert Douglas McCabe of Enders Analysis.

“The first 80 years of Vogue’s life, it had the market to itself, it was the bible for fashion,” McCabe told AFP.

“But online today, there are so many other ways to get your information. Influencers, Instagram, YouTube — everyone’s a threat.”

In a world where new fashion trends can blow up around the world in seconds, it has become much harder for a monthly magazine to set the pace.

“It’s not that they can’t survive for another 100 years — but they will be differently sized,” McCabe said.

Vogue has tried to branch out into different areas, including events.

“I used to work for a magazine, and today I work for a brand,” Alt said on the eve of French Vogue’s 1,000th issue in 2019.

But the big money was always in print, and Vogue Paris sales are dropping steadily from 98,345 in 2017 to 81,962 to 2020, according to data site ACPM.

It is perhaps unsurprising that the new top job in Paris, redefined as “head of editorial content”, went to Eugenie Trochu, who was key to building the magazine’s online presence.

She declared herself “thrilled to be part of Vogue’s international transformation”.

For the curator of the exhibition, it is ironic timing.

“We had no idea it would end like this when we started work on the exhibition,” said Lecallier.

“Who knows where it will go from here.”

The exhibition Vogue Paris 1920-2020 is at the Palais Galliera in Paris’ 16th arrondissement. The gallery is open 10am to 6pm Tuesday to Sunday and is closed on Mondays. Tickets for the exhibition are €14 (€12 for concessions and under 18s go free) and must be reserved online in advance. 

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