Sandra‘s Closet

In December 2021, Billie Eilish announced an eco-friendly limited-edition vinyl version of «Happier Than Ever» made from recycled vinyl scraps. The collector’s item was available only at a number of Gucci stores around the world and included Gucci-branded nail stickers designed by the brand’s creative director at that time, Alessandro Michele. Needless to say it sold out in seconds and the market got flushed with fake stickers available on Amazon, Etsy and others.

However, the best is yet to come. The nail stickers set – created to celebrate House emblems through the GG monogram and lettering in multiple shades and styles – is available now for only CHF 20 without the vinyl. This is a true collector’s item for all beauty lovers. Comprised of 176 stickers, the set includes four designs that allow for endless creative combinations, infusing each look with brand recognition.

How to use: After allowing a base coat of your chosen nail color to dry fully, place the nail-art sticker of choice on the middle of each fingernail. Press it for a few seconds with a finger, and then release.

TO SHOP THE NAIL STICKER SET, CLICK HERE PLEASE.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Gucci
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Breaking news before the weekend: Valentino has named former Gucci designer Alessandro Michele its creative director. Only a week after designer Pierpaolo Piccioli exited the Roman couture house after 25 years, including 8 years as its sole creative director.

The brand will not show menswear or haute couture in June. Michele’s first show for the brand will take place during Paris Fashion Week in September.

«I feel the immense joy and the huge responsibility to join a maison de couture that has the word ‘beauty’ carved on a collective story, made of distinctive elegance, refinement and extreme grace,» Michele said in a statement.

Gucci S/S 2016 designed by Alessandro Michele

Rumors were that Michele would head to LVMH, so the news come a little unexpected. Valentino is owned by Mayhoola, the fashion group backed by the Qatari royal family that also owns Balmain and Pal Zileri. Last year, Kering acquired 30 percent of Valentino for €1.7 billion – implying a valuation worth of €5 billion – as part of a broader partnership with Mayhoola. The agreement gave Kering the option to acquire 100 percent of Valentino «no later than 2028». The former Gucci designer – a brand that also belongs to Kering – is a is known for its maximalist aesthetic that helped triple sales at the megabrand.

The designer will work once more with chief executive Jacopo Venturini, who previously led Gucci’s merchandising efforts alongside Michele and then-CEO Marco Bizzarri before joining Valentino.

«The reinterpretation of the maison’s couture codes and the heritage created by Mr. Valentino Garavani, combined with Alessandro’s extraordinary vision, will bring us moments of great emotion and will translate into irresistibly desirable objects,» Venturini said.

Kering chairman François-Henri Pinault added in a statement: «With his creativity, culture and versatile talent, Alessandro Michele will be able to interpret masterfully the unique heritage of this magnificent house and make it flourish.»

Valentino S/S 2024 ad campaign

It is an interesting choice and I am really looking forward to seeing how Michele will interpret the House of Valentino, which stands for sophistication, femininity and great tailoring.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of the Brands
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Gucci announces Gucci Cosmos, a major new exhibition of the House’s most iconic and timeless designs from its 102-year history. A playful voyage that spirals backwards and forwards through the decades, Gucci Cosmos consists of eight immersive ‘worlds’ devised by renowned British artist Es Devlin to create a cutting-edge audio, visual, and kinetic experience.

Curated by Italian fashion theorist and critic Maria Luisa Frisa, Gucci Cosmos showcases era-defining pieces from the Gucci Archive in Florence. Encompassing work by founder Guccio Gucci and his creative successors, up to Tom Ford, Frida Giannini, and Alessandro Michele, the exhibition demonstrates how the visionary ethos at the heart of the House has continuously reflected and defined the times.

The Gucci archive space at Palazzo Settimanni in Florence, Italy.

Gucci plans to present Gucci Cosmos at West Bund Art Center in Shanghai from April 28 to June 25 before touring the world.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Gucci
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Breaking news! Today, GUCCI announced that Alessandro Michele is exiting the House after nearly eight years with the brand. The Roman designer was hired by Tom Ford and worked than after Frida Giannini before taking over the helmet himself. With his maximalist vision, he changed the look of fashion and brought colorful looks to the runway. Unexpected color combinations, animals such as tigers, lions and bees were his favorites.

The Hacker Project, 2021

Michele had a flair for rule-breaking hookups. There was the F/W 2021 Hacker Project with Demna of Balenciaga, a Kering «colleague» and then a year later he collaborated with adidas collab. However, the brand was hit during corona and numbers haven’t been on the rise recently. GUCCI seems to suffer from brand fatigue.

Gucci x adidas, 2022

In a statement GUCCI CEO Marco Bizzarri said, «I was fortunate to have had the opportunity to meet Alessandro at the end of 2014, since then we have had the pleasure to work closely together as Gucci has charted its successful path over these last eight years. I would like to thank him for his 20 years of commitment to Gucci and for his vision, devotion, and unconditional love for this unique House during his tenure as Creative Director.»

S/S 2023 Welcome to Twinsburg show.

Alessandro Michele said: «There are times when paths part ways because of the different perspectives each one of us may have. Today an extraordinary journey ends for me, lasting more than twenty years, within a company to which I have tirelessly dedicated all my love and creative passion. During this long period Gucci has been my home, my adopted family. To this extended family, to all the individuals who have looked after and supported it, I send my most sincere thanks, my biggest and most heartfelt embrace. Together with them I have wished, dreamed, imagined. Without them, none of what I have built would have been possible. To them goes my most sincerest wish: may you continue to cultivate your dreams, the subtle and intangible matter that makes life worth living. May you continue to nourish yourselves with poetic and inclusive imagery, remaining faithful to your values. May you always live by your passions, propelled by the wind of freedom.»

Personally speaking, I felt that GUCCI has become kind of arrogant lately. Its loyalty towards people who have been supporting the brand since a very long time has kind of disappeared. Let’s hope that the there will be a new prosperity in all ways, also on a human level as I love the brand a lot!

Thank you, Alessandro, for all the magic!

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht / David Biedert Photography
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Origins, travel, experience. And the certainty that a suitcase is not just a container. From the culture of travel that forms the history of the brand comes the new Gucci Valigeria campaign, featuring actor, screenwriter, director, and musician Ryan Gosling.

Creative Director Alessandro Michele, through the lens of photographer Glen Luchford, upends a typical sense of narrative and sets the campaign in a dreamlike dimension that goes beyond the boundaries that separate it from reality to recount a present built on the possibilities of the imagination and of an encounter.

The Gucci Savoy collection is the narrative result of a story that takes flight from the typical splendors of travel to confer the value of memory to the origins of a brand that was created from an intuition and from the observation of potentialities, precisely thanks to travel, developing discoveries of worlds and of diverse cultural manners.

«Travel for Gucci was never purely physical. Gucci is the brand that accompanied the artists, writers, actors, and directors of Hollywood on their journeys… This is why I wanted the advertising campaign to recount a situationist dimension where the protagonist traverses a “non-place” that is first and foremost a mental place, the same as those who, in the past and present, choose Gucci because they grasp the significance of creativity used to build imaginary places. And it is for this reason that a Gucci suitcase appears as a magical suitcase,» says Creative Director Alessandro Michele.

It is precisely in travel that the heritage of Gucci finds its origins. Founded in Florence in 1921 by Guccio Gucci, who more than twenty years prior when he was just 17, emigrates to Paris and then to London. The young Florentine works first as a porter at The Savoy in London, the go-to destination for international travelers. The very young Guccio Gucci comes into contact with the magic of travel that, at the time, was synonymous with discovery, discussion, study, and a bridge between diverse cultures. It was a time in which traveling signified experience, displacing the certainties of one’s social environment, a pursuit of the unexpected, of a will to encounter and to know. The return to Florence can’t but remember that observed and studied reality, assimilated and ready to be transferred into the practice of work. Guccio Gucci will do it with his first suitcases, trunks, bags, hat boxes. All the containers required to bring with oneself, on a journey, those necessities to represent oneself and one’s culture in an unknown and often foreign place.

In a narrative inversion that fills a stretch of space-time, the same containers appear as protagonists in the campaign, which presents the Gucci Savoy collection
including trolleys, hard and soft suitcases, duffle bags, trunks, hat boxes, and beauty cases. Objects that encapsulate experiences and desires that, in the images and video of the campaign, fill the bed of a polished pick-up truck in which the new collection lives side by side with historical pieces and that, in this plausible story of possibilities, are also repositories of dreams.

And it is this reality-adjacent dream that Ryan Gosling is living. At the end of a journey studded with arrivals and departures, he is introduced to surprising places through a trunk that becomes a gateway to fantastical worlds, which will turn out to be more real than any imagination could conceive. Because it leads to that reality of discovery that has always had the ability to build unexpected worlds.

The Gucci Savoy collection, which is part of the House’s wider Gucci Valigeria travel selection, is distinguished by a combination of heritage-infused design elements including the GG monogram and/or the Web stripe, offered in both soft and hard-sided iterations. The collection comprises items for every travel need, designed to be used now and for many years to come as classic and contemporary elements come together within a timeless aesthetic.

I will be going to Florence with Gucci in the beginning of October and cannot wait to explore everything where it all had started…

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Gucci #GucciValigeria
Creative Director: Alessandro Michele – Art Director: Christopher Simmonds – Photographer & Director: Glen Luchford – Make up: Thomas De Kluyver – Hair: Paul Hanlon / DISCLOSURE: We may earn commission from links on this page, but I only recommend products I love. Promise.

Originally debuting on the Exquisite Gucci runway, a mirror-filled space where historic emblems multiplied and metamorphized across sartorial streetwear, the first adidas x Gucci collection expands on the creative concept founded on an affinity for three stripes. Revealed in a lookbook released last month, the cross-category selection portrays the kaleidoscopic aesthetic of Alessandro Michele by mixing the codes of the House with those of the historic sportswear brand, and consequentially those of high fashion and streetwear.

For the launch, Alessandro Michele has envisioned a campaign that takes inspiration directly from an archival 1979 adidas catalogue. To animate the concept, a gridded template showcases a variety of moving imagery captured by Carlijn Jacobs. Against brightly colored backdrops, models stretch, run, or dance in place to a soundtrack of pensive phrases such as, «When your thoughts become reality, you understand what magic is.»

I am obsessed with the pink jumpsuit.

The assemblage plays out across women’s and men’s ready-to-wear, as well as on bags, shoes, accessories, jewelry, and lifestyle pieces.

Throughout the selection, the GG monogram and Interlocking G mix with the adidas Trefoil in colorful prints, as well as on jacquard fabrics; while the red and green Web of Gucci complements the three stripes of adidas. Pushing the collection further into hybridized territory, ready-to-wear pieces echo the sporting attire of decades past while portraying an undeniable contemporary character. Additionally, conventionally formal pieces like leather heels, suede loafers, and silk scarves are marked with casual codes. Beyond the standard selection, the expansive offering also includes some lifestyle items including a golf bag in two different variations, a nod to the House’s heritage in leisure products.

Reflecting a shared commitment to innovation, progress, sustainability goals, and collective action, the collection features multiple pieces crafted with future-conscious material fabrications including polyester, cotton, and viscose. Furthermore, each piece comes with special packaging that features the adidas x Gucci logo and that was strategically designed to reduce environmental impact (All paper and cardboard come from sustainably managed forest sources, and an uncoated paper has been used to ensure it is fully recyclable. In addition, shopping bag handles are made of 100% recycled polyester while pouches and suit carriers are made of a mix of regenerated cotton and recycled polyester).

The collection will be distributed through designated stores, online on Gucci.com and through ephemeral Gucci Pop-Ups, where the spaces will be decorated with one of the geometric prints found in the offering. A dedicated product selection will also be available on the adidas CONFIRMED app.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Gucci #adidasxGucci
CAMPAIGN CREDITS Creative Director: Alessandro Michele Art Director: Christopher Simmonds Photographer: Carlijn Jacobs
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Furthering an ever-evolving narrative, the House presents Gucci Blondie – a line of handbags that draws inspiration from an archival style defined by a rounded rendition of the signature Interlocking G, as seen in patent documents from 1971. The emblem takes center stage on the collection’s distinctive silhouette, as Alessandro Michele continues to traverse time, gently drawing out the threads of storylines waiting patiently to be found and given a new voice.
The Gucci Blondie, which first debuted within the Love Parade fashion show in Los Angeles, reflects the Creative Director’s ability to effortlessly bridge eras through his creations. This temporal resilience is reflective of an essence that is both chameleonic and charismatic, a combination that allows the line, like many others of the House, to remain contemporary, no matter the year. The modern-day iteration is a stylistic progression of the original, infused with striking details that speak to a free-spirited and independent persona.

The Gucci Blondie offering spans sizes, silhouettes, and details, from a versatile messenger that can be worn on the shoulder or across the body with the included Web or leather straps, to a smaller day-to-night style whose included chain strap can be tucked inside to transform it into a clutch. A miniature version, also featuring interchangeable and adjustable leather and Web straps, rounds out the selection. Designs are available in leather, suede, and GG canvas, with a varied palette for both the bags and the Web straps.

The Gucci Blondie is presented through a new campaign, envisioned as a love letter to New York, as a cast of characters are captured against the backdrop of some of the city’s most celebrated landmarks. Reportage-style shots evocative of an analog age are filled with candor and spontaneity, portraying impromptu moments of heritage in motion and dynamically converging past, present, and future in every frame.

TO SHOP THE NEW GUCCI BLONDIE BAGS, CLICK HERE PLEASE.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Gucci #GucciBlondie – Campaign Credits: Creative Director: Alessandro Michele – Art Director: Christopher Simmonds – Ph & director: Angelo Pennetta – Make up: Thomas De Kluyver – Hair: Paul Hanlon
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A crystal ball heralds its arrival. Mysterious and fascinating, the magical globe is the gift the digital avatar of Alessandro Michele, Gucci’s Creative Director, offers Wagmi-san, world renowned digital artisan who has invited the designer – already on a journey towards new paradigms and forms of creativity – to his virtual shop in New Tokyo.

We cannot resist using the lexicon of fairy tales to describe ‘10KTF Gucci Grail’, the new initiative happening in Vault’s experimental space. In collaboration with digital accessory shop 10KTF, Gucci has created ad hoc digital outfits designed by Alessandro Michele and created by Wagmi-san to dress PFPs from eleven selected NFT collections including Bored Ape, World of Women, Cool Cats and many others. The «PFP» acronym stands for ‘Picture For Proof’, a NFT version of a profile photo, used by collectors both as their portrait and as extreme expressions of artistic and technological talent. The encounter between Wagmi-san and Alessandro Michele generates two custom Gucci looks, available in different colors, inspired respectively by the Aria and Love Parade collections, for those who aspire to express their individuality through fashion in the parallel digital worlds.

The House is already present in the realm of NFTs, the ‘Non-Fungible Tokens‘ that have transformed our experience of art, sublimating it into immaterial digital works. Acquiring personalised virtual garments also involves several steps, not unlike the actual process of securing a designer creation (which requires several fittings).

Over the past few days, the crystal ball has been accessible to three groups of people – those who already own a PFP; those who are members of the Gucci Vault community on the Discord server, and those who already ‘inhabit’ New Tokyo, where artisan Wagmi-san lives. Those who redeemed their crystal ball were able to choose between the different Gucci looks artfully tailored by Wagmi-san and receive their customized digital avatar.

With only a limited number of users involved, this project has the feel of a unique work: «10KTF Gucci Grail» not only highlights the individuality of each person, but it also unveils the huge, spectacular potential of virtual realities, enabling us to design a digital identity in an alternative world. To be dressed for the metaverse is to have another self that Vault allows us to generate through the codes of Gucci.

About 10KTF

Founded in September 2021, 10KTF is the leading shop known for producing bespoke digital accessories in the Metaverse. Located in New Tokyo, the shop is owned and operated by Wagmi-san, a renowned artisan who creates 1:1 digital collectibles for select parent NFT projects. 10KTF is a product of WENEW.

Follow @10ktfshop on Twitter for all of the latest happenings, or visit 10ktf.com to catch up on the full story.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: ©  Gucci / © 10KTF
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After two chapters of The North Face x Gucci (Chapter One – Chapter Two), the collaboration expands to Vault, Gucci’s experimental online space envisioned by Creative Director Alessandro Michele. With both brands embodying the spirit of exploration, The North Face x Vault collaboration presents a limited run of just 150 brightly colored Base Camp Duffels available exclusively on Vault’s website.

Launched in 2021, Vault continuously ventures into uncharted territories in luxury through unexpected collaborations with brands that speak to its forward-thinking ethos. From the moment its first store opened in San Francisco in 1966, The North Face has united travelers and adventurers across the globe. Known for its durable, ergonomic and high-performance designs, its apparel and equipment have become the choice of athletes and explorers from the metropolis to the mountaintop. Today, by merging their creative codes, The North Face and Vault propose a piece for those pursuing unique finds.

Legendary for its rugged construction, The North Face’s Base Camp Duffel is reimagined with a playful pattern inspired by Vault for the collaboration. Made from sustainable weather-resistant material, the bag features adjustable shoulder straps and padded side handles that can be carried or worn as a backpack.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Gucci
DISCLOSURE: We may earn commission from links on this page, but I only recommend products I love. Promise.

An icon in Italian fashion since 1921, Gucci shoes are hot property. Having been given a retro-cool revamp under the creative direction of Alessandro Michele, the brand makes a maximalist footprint. Build your forever wardrobe with new season and get your hands on these divine Gucci shoes that have been all over Instagram.

This pair of slingback shoes are presented in black or nude mesh with a sparkling GG motif. They work with so many looks and I wouldn’t want to miss them in my closet.

To shop the suede-trimmed crystal-embellished mesh slingback pumps in black and nude, click here please.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Gucci and David Biedert Photography
DISCLOSURE: We may earn commission from links on this page, but I only recommend products I love. Promise.