Gucci planning to reveal its latest collection via its own digital festival next week

By

Godfrey Deeny

Published
Nov 5, 2020

First you had Netflix, now you have GucciFest.

In the latest twist in the increasingly online direction of fashion shows, Gucci plans to reveal its next collection via its own digital movie festival named GucciFest.

The unprecedented plan debuts on November 16, with a full week of fashion films co-directed by Alessandro Michele and Gus Van Sant. In effect this will be a seven-part mini-series entitled Ouverture of Something that Never Ended, the name of the next collection by the house.

The Florentine house branded the new project “an innovative digital cinema,” and in a collegial gesture Michele invited a further 15 indie designers to screen fresh creations at his unique digital fete.

Shot in Rome, the seven-episode series stars actress, artist and performer Silvia Calderoni in a surreal daily routine in the city, meeting a series international talent and friends of the House, including: Paul B. Preciado, Achille Bonito Oliva, Billie Eilish, Darius Khonsary, Lu Han, Jeremy O. Harris, Ariana Papademetropoulos, Arlo Parks, Harry Styles, Sasha Waltz and Florence Welch.

Van Sant made his feature-length directorial debut came with “Mala Noche” in 1985, followed by “Drugstore Cowboy” in 1989 starring Matt Dillon, in the actor’s greatest role. His 2008 film “Milk,” based on the life of gay politician Harvey Milk, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director.

The seven episodes will be presented daily, throughout the festival. They will be broadcast exclusively on YouTube Fashion, Weibo and Gucci's YouTube channel, and integrated on the special GucciFest.com site. Hence, Gucci plans to unveil the new collection gradually, day after day.

The project marks the latest innovative twist by Michele when it comes to presenting his collections for Gucci. In July, he staged an extended live streaming from the historic Palazzo Sacchetti, a Renaissance palazzo in Rome, that featured his own creative design team as the cast wearing the co-ed collection.

Together with Gucci, GucciFest will next week also screen fashion films that trumpet the works of multiple independent designers: Ahluwalia, Shanel Campbell, Cormio, Charles De Vilmorin, JordanLuca, Mowalola, Yueqi Qi, Rave Review, Gui Rosa, Rui, Bianca Saunders, Collina Strada, Boramy Viguier, and Gareth Wrighton.
 
The complete program of the GucciFest week will be available from November 13th.