+17 
Pin-up girls, Marilyn Monroe, pastel-coloured Cadillacs driving down Sunset Boulevard, old Westerns shooting in studio lots, Rita Hayworth, too many drugs in dodgy motels – this is Hollywood in its heyday.
This has to be Gucci’s best season in a long time – honestly, I couldn’t take my eyes off it. I’ve amassed my favourite looks, and there are many!
They shut down Hollywood Boulevard for a gargantuan show where celebrities lined the door stoops, and models pounded the pavement. The Chinese Theater towered over the show like a ghost of times past.
Inspired by old Hollywood stars, which were described by Michele as “hybrid creatures with the power to hold divine transcendence and moral existence at the same time,” he created a metaverse, where current mortal stars like Dakota Johnson and Gwyneth Paltrow sat on the sidelines, and models showcased divine transcendence – I wonder if they’ll design shows for you in 60 years’ time?
The clothes are destined for a red carpet – they just wouldn’t be appropriate anywhere else!
Ava Gardner’s signature ‘do graced the heads of many a model; bustiers and low-cut waistcoats reminded us of the more glamourous days, when men wore suits just to go to the cinema, and women spent the majority of their day with their hair in rollers so they could look like Elizabeth Taylor. Cat-eye sunglasses reminiscent of the tailfins of a 1959 Cadillac Eldorado, similar to Prada’s SS12 inspired by Hot Rods, gave the models a look of superior anonymity, further exacerbated by the black out screen sunglasses worn sporadically throughout.
My favourite look is Look 75, with that amazing mustard 70’s suit, star-shaped nipple pasties (for superstar quality), and cream cowboy hat to finish the look. However, when I wear this suit, I will be wearing a shirt underneath – although I could do a bikini top, it is SS22 after all!
Sadly, my favourite Harry Styles wasn’t here, but he did join in from afar, by dressing up in a Gucci-designed Dorothy costume from the Wizard of Oz for his Madison Square Garden concert on Halloween (dubbed Harryween), including custom red slippers. Lucky Olivia Wilde – I don’t know which I’m more jealous over: being able to sleep next to Harry Styles (amongst other things, god knows we love ‘Watermelon Sugar’), or having access to his wardrobe. You’d just hope you were a similar shoe size!
Even Macauley Caulkin from Home Alone walked the runway, dressed like an arrogant movie producer stalking the streets of the 20th Century Fox lot – all he was missing was a chunky cigar and assistants running wildly around him like bees to a hive.
With inspiration pulled from Western cowboys, Rita Hayworth, Rock Hudson, Cadillacs, and the idea that sex sells: silky negligees, lace hold-ups, and sex-toy jewellery – this is Old Hollywood at its best, done right, in the 21st century.
You best believe I’m buying one of those cowboy hats – but I’ll be dreaming about the gowns while watching ‘Gentlemen Prefer Blondes’ for the hundredth time…
Images via Vogue Runway