We made a relatively big fucking scene when Gucci was in the middle of its search for a new creative director earlier this year. And for good reason. Gucci is an enormous brand and driving force behind fashion at large. Its influence, subliminal or not, can't be denied, which is why speculation led to the big names of fashion inserting themselves into the equation. Of course, that didn't end up happening and Gucci pretty much went the complete opposite direction, promoting Alessandro Michele from inside its ranks. No one had really heard of him unless you were a total fashion investigation nerd, which may be why Vogue profiled the guy so we could finally put some facts with the new, bearded face.
Michele himself knows he wasn't even initially on the list for consideration, but when he dropped his debut menswear collection for the brand earlier this year, he put that shit together in five days. Five fucking days, people! That's even shorter than the week many media outlets had previous reported. Michele is an interesting guy from a weird little family too: His mother was movie executive assistant and his father a long-haired, bearded shaman who lived a simple life and could identify the different sounds of every bird. If you've seen his collections, you'd already know that he loves retro looks and even describes his own aesthetic as "fake vintage," which manifests itself via a ton of florals and patterns in his work.
The profile is basically, "Hey, here's the new guy on the scene and these are all the facts about him that you need to know so you can drop them into casual conversation and prove that you are the smartest, most well-read person in the room." If you're looking for a primer on one of the dudes leading one of the biggest brands in the world, that's what you get here. Nothing wrong with that, considering Michele is a newcomer to the role. It's smart to let his identity and reputation breathe a minute before any bigger picture ambitions and aspirations get pegged onto him as they tend to do in fashion.
