Designer legacy in 10 red carpet looks

Designer Alessandro Michele announced on Wednesday (23) his departure from Gucci after seven years as its creative director and around 20 years as a designer at the Italian fashion house.

One of the most celebrated names in the industry in recent years thanks to collections of bold proposals and unorthodox executions, Michele insinuated in his farewell that the end of his journey was due to “different perspectives” between him and the company’s management.

After a long thank you to his co-workers, the designer leaves the post vacant, with only his own team in charge of Gucci’s creations. The Kering group, which owns and manages the brand, should choose a name in the near future, with an indefinite period.

Gucci had been chosen by fashionistas in July as “the hottest brand of the moment”, taking the top of the Lyst Index of searches for looks on the web and surpassing Balenciaga. The soul of Michele’s Gucci, with dreamlike and irreverent universes, seemed to speak more to the post-pandemic spirit than the apocalyptic climate of Demna Gvasalia’s brand, Kim Kardashian’s favorite.

However, behind the scenes, the intention of executives would be renewal to establish a new rhythm for the company, internal sources would have revealed to the specialized portal WWD. In other words, nothing “more of the same”, but a search for fashion that speaks to desires and figures that yield high figures.

Despite this, and undeniably, Alessandro Michele leaves a strong legacy for Gucci — an era of humorous streetwear, as well as tailoring and Haute Couture with gemstones, vibrant colors, far-fetched textures and ‘crazy’. Remember the stylist’s trajectory in ten of his unforgettable creations on the red carpets:

2015

Months after Michele took over the brand, actress Lupita Nyong’o debuted a look of hers at the 68th Festival de Cannes that caused something to talk about: the Los Angeles Times newspaper called her “the beauty of the ball” thanks to the lightness of the long flowing green vibrant, with applications of flowers and stones, a break from the old aesthetics of the house.

2018

The singer literally shone with stars applied in a long pastel and around a halo, a tribute to the look of Hedy Lamarr — an actress who broke Nazi codes during World War II — in the film “The World is a Theater”, pointed to the fashionistas season and The Cut website.

2018

The designer himself (left) teamed up with two close collaborators, Lana del Rey and Jared Leto, for a triad of coordinated looks that paid homage to Catholic iconography, in keeping with the theme of that year’s Met Gala: ‘Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination’ (something like “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination”, in free translation).

2019

Much of Harry Styles’ fashion renaissance in gender-defying looks began at the hands of Michele, who in 2022 would choose him as a partner in creating the “Gucci Ha Ha Ha” collection. In 2019, the singer appeared with sleeves with ruffles, lace applications and transparency at the Met Gala, in a Victorian-inspired look.

2019

At the same event with the theme “Camp”, which celebrated the artifice and the exaggerated in fashion, Jared Leto returned not only to dress but “to embody the brand” in a kind of tunic covered by an armor of crystals accompanied by his own head, in a prosthesis-accessory that fascinated the audience at the event.

2019

Still at the 2019 Met Gala, singer Florence Welch appeared with a cape structured in the shape of wings, with a lot of brightness, transparency and fluidity in the contrasting length, which guaranteed her an ethereal appearance on the red carpet. According to Vogue America, the inspiration would be medieval fairy tales.

2019

The year was fruitful for Michele and Gwendoline Christie, Brienne of Tarth from “Game of Thrones”, appeared in a red and white robe with gold embroidery at the 71st Emmy Awards, the Oscars of television. According to the American Harper’s Bazaar, the reference for the look would have come from the Roman togas, but the actress stole the scene and yielded comparisons to the costumes of House Lannister in the series.

2020

Billie wore a mask coordinated with her green and black look with sparkles and pattern with the iconography of the brand – combined with her hair – two months before the World Health Organization declared the beginning of the covid-19 pandemic. The look today feels symbolic of that year.

2021

A kind of informal interpretation of Marilyn Monroe’s original naked dress, with sparkles and transparency in a nude tone — although the reference was never revealed, Dakota Johnson’s dress had Rosaline crystals that overlapped a second skin of tulle embroidered with stones in the shape of of tears and a fringe of crystals.

2021

In her last year working with the brand, Michele continued to bring striking looks to the red carpet, some of them for Gaga — the star of the film “Casa Gucci”, about the recent history of the brand and the murder of one of its heirs, Maurizio Gucci. The actress and singer donned a flowing, draped purple gown that anticipated the maxi slit trend, highlighted by fishnet stockings.