Vogue India June 2019

166

hissteelyfocusbuttothepowerfulre-

sourcesat hisdisposalat Gucci.Though

hehadbeenbutanunknownassistant

toformercreativedirectorFridaGian-

nini,in thatsingle collectionhereset

the dial at the house, introducing a

quirky runway cast wearing gender-

neutralclothesthatdrewonhispassion

foreclecticvintagereferencesandan-

tique accoutrements—notablythe fist-

fuls ofrings thathedelights in him-

self—not to mention a fur-lined slide

shoethatbecameaninstantmust-have

item.Michele’ssustainedabilityto both

createdesireandchangetheconversa-

tionprovedtheprescienceof MarcoBiz-

zarri,Gucci’spresidentandCEO—who

droppedby the fitting to salute the de-

signerheaddressesas“Maestro.”

Michele originally studied costume

design,inspiredbythelegendary Vis-

conticollaboratorPieroTosi,a friendof

someofhisprofessors,beforedeciding

thatfashionmightbea morepragmatic

career choice, and his runway shows

andimage-makingstillhavea theatri-

cal, cinematic quality. In the nearby

showspacelaterthatday,welistento

theeeriesoundtrackofbayingwolves

andreligiouschants,besidea seizure-

inducing wall of1,20,000 LED lights

thatMichelehasconceivedhimself.“I

tryalwaystoputsomethingwrongin

there—some contamination,” he says

of thesetouches.“Perfectiondoesn’tex-

ist,solet’scelebratethethingsthatare

wrongina goodway.”

Michele’sdesignteamincludesyoung

people from places as far-flungas New

Zealand, China, Japan, Scotland and

South Korea. “People are looking at

thesamethingwithdifferenteyes.It’s

fascinating.”

“Ifeel young, butI’m gettingold,”

adds Michele,who turned46 last No-

vember, with amused resignation.

“But I’mlearninga lotaboutmusic

and artists. Maybe I’m like Peter

Pan—thekindof personthatwantsto

stillfeelyoung.”

Asthemodelswalkupanddownin

sharp-shouldered,1940s-inspiredzoot-

suittailoring,Micheleadmitsthatthere

is something of his powerful mother

andgrandmotherintheseclothes.“My

granny was verychic,” hesays.“She

was always in black—shirtdresses, a

black trench, or pied de poule and

Princeof Waleschecks. I thinkI learned

fromhertheloveforjewels.”

His glamour-hungry grandmother

encouragedherdaughtersto pursueca-

reersin themoviesat Rome’sCinecittà.

“My mom was really obsessed with

Americanmoviesandcinema,”Michele

says.“Forherit waslikea religion.”As

the first assistantto a film executive,

sheregaledhersonwiththegossipof

theperiodandwithstoriesof brushing

shoulderswithElizabethTayloratthe

localcoffeeshop.

Michele’s cinematic approach ex-

tendstohiscastingof pan-generational

think that Hollywood is the second

chapterof Greekmythology.

“Ilovecontemporary,”hecontinues,

“butI wanttoalwayslooktothepast.

You can’t ignore it. Look at Lady

Gaga—she changed a million times,

she’sworneverything,butintheend

shewantedtobeLanaTurnerbecause

thoseoldmoviestarsarethedivas,the

goddessesofbeautyandpower.It’sal-

actresses,includingVanessaRedgrave

andFaye Dunaway—alongwithsuch

figures of Cinecittàglamouras the leg-

endarily chic Italian socialite Marina

Cicogna—in his campaigns. And he

evokeda passionforthegloryyearsof

Tinseltown’skinetic,Technicolormusi-

calsin Gucci’sspring 2019 campaign,

shot by Glen Luchford at Universal

Studiosover 10 long days.Afterward,

Michelesays,“I understoodwhypeople

lived for showbiz, because when the

machineis moving—whenthedanceris

doingthetapdance—it’ssopowerful.

I’mveryattractedtomythology,andI

waysbeenthesame—ifyouthinkabout

a 17th-centuryqueen,theywantedto

looklikethegoddessDiana.”

InthefouryearssinceMicheletook

overthereinsatGucci,“alotof things

changed,”hesays.“Youcan’tbeclosed

SingerCharliXCX

wearsa Guccisweatshirt,

dressandberet

SaraSampaioand

RanveerSingh,Vogue

India,October 2018

TwinkleKhanna,Vogue

India,October 2017