On October 12th, the fashion world woke up to huge news: Gucci announced they are going fur-free. The chief executive’s own words were “It’s not modern, it’s a little outdated”. So how did Gucci take this huge U-turn and decided to leave their infamous fur-lined loafers behind? The fur discussion in the fashion world has been present for years. Gucci is not the first to sign up to Fur Free Alliance; Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, Armani are all fur free brands. However there is no doubt that Gucci’s surprising action will have some effects on their sales regarding the fact that their best selling models all contain fur. The topic…
-
-
Memes are the new Campaigns
Social media craze is present everywhere in our lives. Fashion brands are using every social media channel efficiently for marketing purposes however Gucci took this one step further and launched memes instead of campaign editorials. The latest trend on internet is memes, relatable and funny posts that address millennials. Gucci hired “international meme creators” and created the collaborative project called #TFWGucci. The Instagram posts had direct reference to popular memes, which made Internet humour lovers “laugh-out-loud” while leaving some of their followers clueless. For the ones that do not know the Internet slang “TFW” translates to “That feeling when”. #TFWGucci, emphasis on the hashtag, was the campaign for brand’s new…
-
Il Nuovo Gucci: in the Backstage of the Italian Empire’s Rebirth.
We’re in December 2014, and the mutli-brand luxury group Kering announces the departure of Patrizio di Marco and Frida Giannini, respectively Gucci’s CEO and artistic director. This wave of departures from Gucci comes as no surprise, and marks the beginning of a fresh start for the Florentine brand. Set up in 1921 by Guccio Gucci and acquired in 1999 by the ancestor of Kering, PPR, the double G brand was, at the time, going through a rough patch. 2013 has proved to be a downturn in the brand’s sales, a situation that worsened in 2014, with lower sales volume of 1.8% at 3,49 billion euros. Considering that Gucci is the…
-
Fashion Eliminates the Y Chromosome
As we learned in biology lessons, chromosome Y defines human gender. However, as we are learning from fashion today, at the end of the day it doesn’t really matter. The boundaries between masculinity and femininity are increasingly blurring and this seems to be more than a fast trend. In the past, when fashion was way more conservative, one could tell for sure what is appropriate for a man and what suits a woman. Today we see the stereotypes melting: while ladies wear boyfriend jeans, oversize shirts, T-shirts and hoodies, the aesthetics leaving their looks find place in menswear with brands like J.W.Anderson and Gucci introducing the man of unconventional, androgynous…
-
Kering: When Sustainability Marries With Luxury
Sustainability and fashion – two words full of meaning that seem to collide, but where the social power of this mesmerizing industry strikes again, creating synergies between an apparent dichotomy. Environmental impact has been a hot issue in the recent years, and the fashion industry has often been placed on the other side of the spectrum, and classified as one of the most polluting industries in the planet. Last week, Kering published an ambitious sustainability report marking an important step towards a more sustainable luxury. Let’s see what its implications are. Kering has been the first luxury giant to share publicly the environmental impact of its operations. Last weesk’s report…
-
Creative Directors: What’s Ahead?
Two days ago we were hit by the fresh news: Massimiliano Giornetti to exit Salvatore Ferragamo. Could have been striking, but with all the recent shifts in fashion houses’ creative reigns we just close the article tab thinking “agaaaaaaain”. Seems like in the world of fashion there’s just some kind of agreement to drive the observers crazy.. What’s going on? Alexander Wang, Stefano Pilati.. In between the whole buzz about Raf Simons. Shock and regret to wave goodbye to Alber Elbaz leaving Lanvin, speculation, rumors and guesses about the future of Hedi Slimane. While in case of the first events we reacted strongly, discussing, wondering and questioning, now it feels…
