Gucci Aria, 5 best hacks from Gucci’s 100th Anniversary Show Hackathon

Written by Susan Stjernberger by Qim Claesson

Alessandro
I’m so in love with the 90s!
Tom is a genius!
I thought a lot about his work in this show…

Demna
Yes, it really defined the decade in fashion…

Alessandro
…I’m obsessed, as you know, with bringing the past back and transform it into a living and vibrant present.

Demna
Totally! For me, this is pretty much the magic of fashion…

And so went on the conversation between the two designers from Gucci and Balenciaga chatting about their collaboration and their upcoming shows. And fashion magic was born.

Hack #1
Tom Ford was hacked as he deserves. Alessandro paid homage and celebrated Tom Ford’s Gucci glory days with so many references. My heart skipped a few beats when the first look walked out wearing the infamous iconic red velvet suit we all remember Gwyneth Paltrow wearing, even with the same blue shirt. I had to take in extra air to the beat of “Gucci Gang”. Is it a surprise the way Alessandro feels about Tom? No, we all feel that way, at least I know I do. The way Tom Ford gave life to Gucci and shocked us excitingly in so many ways with his campaigns and sexual references reared a whole new era in fashion. It was a fashion code worth hacking.

Hack #2
The Balenciaga hack happened after all. There were rumors over social media but could it really be true? It’s never happened before where two big fashion houses collaborate. Could this be the beginning of more? Maybe Louis Vuitton and Dior? Possibly Saint Laurent and Alexander McQueen? I would be up for that hacksplaining!

Alessandro
Did you have time to see the looks I’ve been working on?

Demna
I’ve seen some of the renderings and it looked really cool how you translated those pieces into your universe.

Hack #3
The horsebit was the great big hack. “I have celebrated the equestrian world of Gucci transfiguring it into a fetish cosmogony,” says Alessandro. And you could see it everywhere, fetishized into harnesses, collars, floggers, and bondage giving me flashbacks to the San Francisco Folsom Street Fair where everything was accepted and natural. After that nothing shocks me anymore. And it was just that, It was in the air, a part of our cosmos, something you would wear every day.

Hack #4
The Marilyn Monroe beauty hack was created with very natural looks, a bit shiny, glossy and dewy. “I have sublimated Marilyn Monroe’s silhouette and old Hollywood’s glamour,” says the designer. As each look came through the runway, lights flashing, paparazzi vibes, jewels glimmering, and diamonds rocking…you heard BHAD BHABIE feat. Lil Yachty “Gucci flip flops, fuck it, hit your bitch in my socks (bust it). This a big watch, diamond drippin' off of the clock”.

Hack #5
I was hacked and I learned how vulnerable I am. This show took us from the birth of Gucci with references to Guccio Gucci and when he was a bellboy at The Savoy to Tom Ford and his sexual awakening. All the while listening to “Gucci Coochie” and “Gucci Flip Flops”. Then he surprisingly hacked us into Balenciaga ending up in a big rave party and the rebirth of Alessandro Michele’s Gucci. Time to come up for air, breathe, Gucci Aria that is.