Gucci Cruise show 2019

It’s that time of year again, and last night it happened it's, of course, the Gucci SS19 cruise show. Happening this year in the French seaside city of Arles, at the Alyscamps, one of the most famous Roman necropolises, even referenced in Dante’s Inferno, its one of the most iconic burial sites of the ancient western world, and as usual with any Gucci show, it was a spectacle to behold!

Set to happen at the rather unspecific time of sundown, in the eerie setting of a graveyard perched atop a hill overlooking the city. It fit the theme perfectly as Alessandro Michele was reportedly fascinated by the idea of death this season, continuing on Gucci’s now recognizable, goth-inspired, streetwear infused aesthetic that is currently running through the collections. An interesting side note is that Saint Genesius was decapitated, reportedly perhaps on the very site of the cruise show which could be seen as a callback to the severed heads carried by models at Gucci's 2018 Fall/Winter runway show. Again underlining the theme of death and the afterlife.

The catwalk was literally on fire, with lit spits set along the Promenade Des Alyscamps, which on its sides houses the tombs of some of 4.A.D’s more notable citizens and bishops. The music consisted of owl hoots and coral passages and some of the models even wore creepy goth inspired sheer masks to firmly established the spookiness of the moment.

The majority of the collection wasn’t nearly as spooky, it is the cruise show after all and Michele showed plenty of staples that could as easily be paired with simple white sneakers, as they could with the more outlandish Gucci styles. There were plenty of candyfloss silks, crepes and velvets, satin pieces came in a range of new prints. Leggings and tights were shown too, with leopard print, sequins, and lace. Overall another very strong Gucci show, in the commercial yet evocative style that Alessandro Michele is perfectly pulling off at the moment.