152 HARPER’S BAZAAR SEPTEMBER 2018
Fashion
FE ATUR Ehat do a third eye, a baby dragon,
and faux decapitated heads have in
common? Sounds like an unlikely fashion insider joke—for further
proof, check the hashtag #GucciChallenge on Instagram—but trust
me when I say that this all makes sense as part of creative director
Alessandro Michele’s latest F-U to the status quo at Gucci.
Going against the grain with out-of-this-world “cyborgs”, Michele
questioned the idea of conformity. His Autumn/Winter ’18 show
notes read: “The challenge of the disciplinary power is to impose a
precise identity on the subject. This
operation is carried out placing the
subject inside binary fixed categories,
as the normal/abnormal one, with
the specific intent of classifying,
controlling, and regulating the
subject.” And so, Michele went
beyond those categories—Hammer
House of Horror prosthetics and third
eyes ablazing.
In his own Dr Frankenstein-
meets-fashion magpie way, Michele
introduced a new proposition to
beauty, because really, why blend in
when you can stand out? During a
time when high-gloss hair, waspy-
waists, and filled-in lips have taken
social media by storm, his approach
couldn’t be any more pronounced.
Cue Russian babushkas in New York
Yankees varsity jackets, or bejewelled
BDSM chains worn with striking
balaclavas. Elsewhere, a violet Chantilly lace burka was paired with
an even more ornate headdress, thrown in together with an oversized
puffer coat, pencil skirt, and dress shirt for good measure.
Interestingly, Michele’s resistance to the norm this season
stemmed from an essay written by Donna Haraway in 1984,
titled ‘A Cyborg Manifesto’. In it, the American professor criticises
the conventional notions of feminism, and uses the “cyborg” as a
metaphor to urge feminists to move beyond limitations of traditional
gender expectations.W
On the runway, this was
translated to disco-ready go-go
boys in ’80s prom dresses, as well as
Danish model Line Kjaergaard in
what seemed to be an Aztec-inspired
ski mask, matched with a hooded
teal fur coat and ’70s tweed trousers.
But on a more literal and playful
sense, the ’60s feminist anime comic
Viva! Volleyball’s Chie Hosokawa
made a rare appearance, specifically,
on an oversized knitted sweater, worn by androgynous model Mads
Teglers. Cross culture, meets cross-dressing.
Throwing everything up in the air is really what Michele always
does best, but what set this season apart was the thought process
that ultimately urged the viewer to diverge. Tulled trousers with
glamorous body chains? Sure. A papal dress with a baby dragon in
tow? Why not? In this regard, perhaps the word “freedom” could
best sum up Michele’s frame of thought this Autumn/Winter ’18:
the freedom to dress, imagine, and fantasise—as far as the mind
takes you. Pure, unadulterated, freedom. gTHIRD
EYE
BL IND
This season at Gucci, beauty went beyond
the eye of the beholder. Amy Yasmine
dissects Alessandro Michele’s latest
collection, which blurred the lines between
abstract anomalies, social confines, and
post-humanism.Alessandro
Michele’s “cyborg”,
backstage at Gucci
Autumn/Winter ’18