House of Gucci’s costume drama: Lady Gaga looks chic, but most of the cast gets dressed down in Ridley Scott’s new biopic – according to the Italian fashion dynasty family, anyway
Browsing the images contained within Sara Gay Forden’s 2000 book, The House of Gucci, you’ll be struck by how stylish and sophisticated the Gucci family appears. All except, perhaps, for the overly tanned and often gaudily attired Patrizia Reggiani, the wife of luxury goods scion Maurizio Gucci – and scandalously, the person who arranged his murder in 1995.
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And House of Gucci’s recently released trailer, and images from the set, provide a good indication of the style we’ll see on screen when the film debuts in November.
Gaga’s Patrizia also drips in gems, favouring creations from renowned Roman jeweller Bulgari. Notable among them is a museum piece originally crafted in 1991 for Princess Yasmin Aga Khan, daughter of Hollywood star Rita Hayworth and playboy Prince Aly Khan. The dazzling necklace is set with amethysts, citrines, emeralds, pink tourmalines, sapphires and diamonds.
Costume designer Yates has previously partnered with Scott on his films Gladiator, American Gangster, Hannibal, Body of Lies and Prometheus, among others. In a statement for Gucci, Yates said that in dressing the members of the Gucci family, Scott had briefed her “to not go too over the top, but to emphasise their character traits”.
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In an April interview with the Associated Press, Patrizia Gucci (a second cousin of Maurizio, not to be confused with Patrizia Reggiani) said she was shocked at Jared Leto’s portrayal of her father, Paolo – who cuts a dapper figure in real-life archival imagery – as an unkempt, lilac-suited fashion victim. “Horrible, horrible,” Patrizia said. “I still feel offended.”
She is also displeased with the cinematic portrayal of Aldo Gucci, the son of founder Guccio Gucci, who was instrumental in giving the brand a global presence and was considered one of the best-dressed people of his time. (Aldo is quoted in Forden’s book as saying, “Elegance is like manners. You can’t be polite only on Wednesday or Thursday. If you are elegant, you should be elegant every day of the week.”)
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“My grandfather [Aldo] was a very handsome man, like all the Guccis, and very tall, blue eyes and very elegant,” Patrizia said. Images she had seen of Al Pacino’s Aldo, meanwhile, show him as “fat, short, with sideburns, really ugly … shameful, because he doesn’t resemble him at all,” Patrizia said. “We are truly disappointed. I speak on behalf of the family.”
By the looks of the trailer, however, fashion fans and true crime aficionados alike will find House of Gucci anything but disappointing.
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- Jared Leto’s portrayal of an unkempt Paolo Gucci was ‘horrible, horrible’, says daughter Patrizia – while Al Pacino’s Aldo was called ‘fat, short, with sideburns, really ugly’
- Scott and costume designer Janty Yates were granted unfettered access to the fashion house’s archives – but family members are displeased with the result