Cover Gucci and Balenciaga have teamed up for a brand new collection.
Gucci and Balenciaga have teamed up for a brand new collection.
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Is it really a collaboration? Alessandro Michele "hacks" the silhouettes of Balenciaga in this new collection, celebrating Gucci's 100th year
The rumours were true: Gucci and Balenciaga have joined forces to release a collection.
We’ve seen streetwear giants collaborate with high fashion labels, but who would have thought that we’d see a day where two of the trendiest and biggest luxury fashion houses, both owned by Kering, would come together for a special project?
Gucci debuted its highly anticipated Aria collection last night, where it was revealed that the creative geniuses Alessandro Michele, creative director of Gucci, and Balenciaga’s Denma Gvsalia had put their minds together to unveil a stunning collaboration. It also marks Gucci’s 100th anniversary.
The runway show opened with a male model walking into the “Savoy Club”, in a nod to the London hotel where Guccio Gucci used to work at, dressed in a red suit. As the show went on, models walked down a long runway lined with flashing cameras.
So when exactly did Gucci meet Balenciaga on the runway exactly? It appeared to be a blink-and-you-may-miss-it moment, but it happened by around look three apparently.
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And then it became absolutely clear. Gvasalia’s touch was unmistakable and the Gucci branding was seen on models in Balenciaga silhouettes, on bags, shoes and more. But don't call it a collaboration. Or a capsule collection. Creative director Michele wants it to be regarded as a "hacking" of Gvasalia's Balenciaga designs.
But it was the combination of the logos on some of the ready-to-wear pieces that made members of the audience sit up. The reality of two luxury brands coming together for a collection in 2021 is both exciting and surreal.
Plus, the collection was a celebration of the equestrian world of Gucci mixed with old Hollywood’s glamour with a whole lot of sexiness.
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As Michele said in show notes: “In this sense, Gucci becomes for me a hacking lab, made of incursions and metamorphoses. An alchemical factory of contaminations where everything connects to anything. A place where thefts and explosive reactions happen: a permanent generator of sparkles and unpredictable desires …
“On this occasion, then, I want to honour my filial affection betraying the legacy that was handed down to me. Because the promise of a never-ending birth is only renewed through an evolving capacity. Crossing this threshold, I have plundered the nonconformist rigour of Demna Gvasalia and the sexual tension of Tom Ford.”
Call it whatever you want, Gucciaga, or Balencci—one thing’s for sure, this collection will likely break the internet once it drops and we’ll be talking about it for years to come.
The Gucci Aria collection is slated to be available in stores in September or October 2021.
Watch the full collection in the video below:
Andrea Saadan is the Senior Digital Editor of Tatler Singapore. She oversees all digital content for the website and currently leads the Beauty and Lifestyle verticals. As a child, she had always enjoyed reading and writing but it was only after she joined her college newspaper, The Spectrum, in Buffalo, New York, that she considered a career in journalism. Her love for all things beauty started from the age of two—when she was caught playing with (and damaging) her mother’s YSL lipstick. On top of her day job, she is also an unpaid beauty consultant for friends and family. Besides make-up, her obsessions include the wizarding world of Harry Potter, podcasts, ice-cream, her walking pad and watching endless re-runs of The Office (US).
