Gucci Redesigned Its Entire Men's Show In One Week

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News of Gucci creative director Frida Giannini's abrupt exit from the brand, more than a month earlier than planned, left fashion fans wondering who would take responsibility for Gucci's men's collection, scheduled to be shown just days after her departure. As it turns out, the Gucci entire team started from scratch to produce an entirely new menswear collection. Everything from the clothes to the set design to the model castings were entirely reworked to present a Gucci out from under Giannini's thumb and under head accessories designer Alessandro Michele's new direction.

According to WWD, models—both men and women—who had never walked for Gucci were cast in the new show and the New York Times reports that runway samples were still arriving the night before the show. "It's as far from the former Gucci as possible," an inside source told WWD. "Very young, and a clean break with the past." The NYT pointed out that the show had its share of skeptics who called the new direction too close to what competitors like Hedi Slimane and J.W. Anderson were producing, but nevertheless made for an exciting change of pace. "Maybe there were clues in the qualities the show notes isolated as definitive of the new Gucci: nonconformist, romantic, intellectual," writes Tim Blanks for Style.com. "Was it enough? The women's show in a few weeks will undoubtedly provide more of an answer to that question."
· Gucci Team Makes Changes Ahead of Fall Show [WWD]
· Only One Man Belongs at Gucci, and His Name is Tom Ford [Racked]
· Gucci's Creative Director Asked to Leave Ahead of Schedule [Racked]