Leaving the limelight is definitely something not on Gucci’s list of must-haves this year. From its electrifying Gucci Cosmos exhibition in Shanghai and announcing Indian actress Alia Bhatt as the brand’s newest global ambassador, to its latest Gucci Cruise 2024 Collection, the Italian fashion house is here to make more than a few statements, and definitely some hot headlines.
As the brand is headed for a new era with Sabato De Sarno as its new creative director, Gucci’s in-house team brought about a collection that converses between the past and present. At the ceremonial courtyard of the 14th-century Gyeongbokgung Palace of Seoul, Gucci unveiled its Cruise 2024 collection. A magnificent metaphor of the diverse geographic and historical codes, the collection is a shared style language cultivated by a digital generation of communities connected across continents.
In an urge to bridge the past and future, the creative team pulled inspiration from the multicultural style of South Korea and aligned it with its own Italian DNA. Sensual silhouettes of the late 1990s were upgraded in the colour palette of the 2010s. Embracing the hybridity of formals with sports and streetwear, bourgeois looks such as a bouclé skirt suit, silk blouse and kitten heels were presented. Sportswear featured countless neoprene styles inspired by the scuba wetsuits worn by fervent windsurfers and jet skiers of the Han River.
The collection features detachable sleeves, trousers with zips that allow it to expand in shape, A-line dresses, a bomber jacket that transmutes into an evening skirt and a biker jacket that elongates into a coat. Elements inspired by the traditional South Korean style such as silk bands with bows and hyper-sensory biomorphic motifs by the South Korean artist Ram Han elevated the collection.
Hinting towards a more minimalist Gucci, the assortment includes leather Gucci Horsebit Chain bags of more slender width and archival bags re-interpreted in colourful scuba and ornamental adaptations. The rounded trapezoid Horsebit Chain bag appears in iridescent and precious leather. Scuba boots from the late 1990s feature the collection’s water-sports motif while the Ace sneaker takes on a rounder shape with a tonal shoelace.
The last collection by the in-house team was presented in a star-studded event, with global ambassadors, including Dakota Johnson, Alia Bhatt, and Korean celebrities such as IU, New Jeans’ Hanni and Squid game star, Lee Jung Jae, leading the way for a new regime of Gucci under Mr. De Sarno.
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