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Gucci Goes Gaudy

Gucci took off on a rock and roll tour Monday in Milan with a men’s collection where the models looked like Flower Power guitarists or arty bassists checking into a faintly louche hotel after their latest gig.

Rarely have we seen a men’s collection with so much embroidery, as Gucci’s creative director Frida Giannini sewed tropical flowers on everything from torn striped jeans to white cricket boots or jacquard tuxedos.

Staged in the Florentine label’s show space in central Milan on the third day of the Italian men’s spring 2009 season, the show also heralded the unveiling of Gucci’s latest perfume, whose face is actor James Franco.

But if Franco, star of "Spider Man 3," is the new face, the inspiration for the clothes was MGMT, the Brooklyn Indie band. However, what came out felt more like a self indulgent Sixties rock star, evoking memories of the faded rock star role played by Mick Jagger in Nicholas Roeg’s obscure but nonetheless brilliant movie "Performance." It’s a memory further heightened by the fact that the tousled haired models were very obviously made up, more like ageing rock gods conscious of their fading grandeur than lads in the prime of their youth.

"I wanted a Gucci guy, but an optimistic and happier one," Giannini told FWD backstage after the show.

Backed up by a soundtrack that included remakes Nik Kershaw’s Eighties hit "Wouldn’t It Be Good," the show opened with a gang of Carnaby Street hipsters, in snug suits of bright hued lime green and pearly white cotton. These were followed by the Indie band members attired in dipped dyed leather jackets; faux vintage T-shirts and, even Quadraphenia style parkas. Pants came with beaded waistlines, or belts with agate buckles. Plus Frida conjured up the loafer of the season; a great new moccasin in a three tone choice.

The clothes trumpeted just how far Giannini has led the Gucci man into the street, and, in a summer when the label plans to celebrate the anniversary of its first boutique in Rome, from where Frida hails, it seemed a long a world tour away from the founding family’s vision of patrician luxury for aristocrats and Hollywood royalty.

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