Did you not catch the live stream of Gucci’s Spring/Summer 2013 collection on Weds, right here on missmalini.com??? How could you not!!! Anyways, I’ve got it all covered in this post 🙂 This collection heralds the new stylistic direction that Gucci will take going forward – and one with which I’m totally on board with. Come, check out the new Gucci!
SO, what comes to mind when you think of this Italian fashion house? Slick, sexy styles with plunging necklines in brooding colours, non? For a start, gone were those dark colours to give way to Schiaparelli pink, coral, royal blue, teal, citrus yellow – and the obligatory black and white. And the exposed décolleté was replaced with high necklines and keyhole or plunging cutouts at the back.
Frida Giannini, instead, looked to sleeves to create a statement, while keeping the rest of the silhouette streamlined. Kimono, flute, bishop, bell, ruffled… Erm, just about all kinds of sleeves under the sun were explored.
Prints came with “exotic hints” by way of snakeskin and “Japanese wallpaper” sea anemone. Embellishments came in the form of lovely floral detailing on the necklines, which looks to be a spillover from Gucci’s Cruise 2013 collection, the precursor to this line.
What I liked most about this collection is the understated nature of it. Some baroque, but patently fake, costume jewellery aside, there was none of the usual 24-karat accessories on view. Footwear came in the form of boots and cage sandals with Gucci’s signature horsebit hardware on the ankles. The handbags were limited to tone-on-tone clutches in patent of Plexiglass-like material – and in real departure for the brand, there wasn’t a GG in sight!! Now just need Louis Vuitton to do away with its thoroughly tacky LV monogram and ‘damier’ print, and all will be fine with the world, again.
SO, what did I make of it all? The showy aesthetic makes me gag, so Gucci’s departure from it, as was displayed via this collection, is wholeheartedly welcome by me. I found the ruffles crawling down the arms and up the throat of gazar dresses a frill too far, the python-print numbers made me a tad uncomfortable – but it was still a lovely collection from Frida Giannini.
P.S. Here’s the video link to the show if you want to catch the movement of these pieces… 🙂
P.P.S. The collection will hit the Gucci stores in India in February 2013 🙂