Why was the Gucci Spring-Summer 2023 show so spectacular?

Alessandro Michele, the creative director at the head of Gucci since 2015, had a double vision for this season. As surprising as it may be, the Spring/Summer 2023 collection is placed under the sign of twins. Nourished by family references – his mother and aunt are twins – this show is above all a way for him to interrogate the notions of identity and individuality in a world where everything seems to look identical. In front of an audience stunned by the set filled with black and white photographs of twins taken by Canadian photographer Mark Peckmezian, the analogous silhouettes walk the runway in a game of the original and the copy. Indeed, Alessandro Michele explains in a press release that he wanted to make the different features of his clothes emerge on completely identical bodies.

The staging was truly captivating. As usual, the Italian fashion house’s artistic director did not skimp on the means to offer a memorable show, built up to an element of surprise. As the show began, it was impossible to see the twin silhouettes as a wall of images split the catwalk into two, while the models simultaneously paraded on each side of the wall.

The collection named “Gucci Twinsburg” unveils a wardrobe designed from myriad inspirations. From the garter version of a strict suit, the flamboyant glitters of Hollywood Boulevard, to the red-carpet glamour embodied by maximalist sequinned dresses, Alessandro Michele resurrects many of his obsessions this season. The 1990s and 2000s are revamped through eloquent details in a phantasmagorical, punk, or sensual spirit and through playful cuts and see-throughs.