No one’s talked about
Gucci in a long time.” That’s what Net-a-Porter VP of global buying Sarah
Rutson said just days after Alessandro Michele’s Gucci debut in February, when
he unveiled a collection that reportedly came together in a matter of weeks. Flash-forward
to present day, on the heels of Michele’s Spring ’16 outing: Rutson recently
said that in that sliver of time, Gucci has become the luxury titan’s top
seller next to Saint Laurent.
The rehabilitation of
the storied house’s financial stakes has become a chief interest for parent
company Kering—an interest that, teamed with the sheer covetability and
modishness of Michele’s ready-to-wear and accessories, has paid off. After a
rocky two years, the brand posted a 4.6 percent boost to its second-quarter
sales, improbably after only a few months of Michele’s reinvention efforts.
Beyond the numbers, and at the risk of stating the obvious: Gucci is just plain
cool right now. You didn’t have to be sitting front row at shows this month to
notice the profusion of Michele’s shaggy, kangaroo-lined old-guard loafers, of
the knife-pleated frocks in that gleefully patrician-looking wallpaper floral,
or quietly logo-laden handbags trimmed more remarkably in big bees and snakes.
Here are pieces that haven’t had ample time to gather even a speck of dust on
stockists’ shelves, thanks to a lush, cornucopian quality that makes them easy
to lose yourself in. For this writer and a whole lot of her peers, it’s that
profusion that is so appealing.
See all the ways
well-heeled industry types were wearing Gucci at the shows.
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