At the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, Gucci – along with most luxury brands – relied on digital tools to show its collections. Now, the brand’s creative director Alessandro Michele is embracing real-life events again, opting for destination shows in unexpected locations. In November 2021, he paid homage to silver-screen glamour with a spectacular show in Los Angeles, in the United States. “Love Parade”, as the show was called, took place on Hollywood Boulevard, with a star-studded front row that included A-list celebrities such as actress Gwyneth Paltrow and singer Miley Cyrus. Michele also returned to Milan Fashion Week in February with a blockbuster show, attended by a heavily pregnant Rihanna , featuring the brand’s collaboration with Adidas. For his latest collection, however, he couldn’t have chosen a more different spot from Hollywood or Milan: Castel del Monte, in Puglia, located in the deep countryside of the southern Italian region. The slightly-out-of-the-way location reflects the often esoteric – but always fascinating – tendencies of Michele, whose work incorporates disparate influences that somehow manage to work together. The medieval castle, which dates back to the 13th century, is an amalgam of elements from Northern Europe, the Islamic world and classical antiquity, reflecting Michele’s magpie sensibility. “I like going from urban places to remote places like this, where I can get lost,” says Michele in a pre-show interview, adding that he was fascinated by the many tales about the birth of the castle, which was the brainchild of Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, who commissioned the structure around 1240. While Michele explains that he didn’t look at the way people dressed in the Middle Ages (which lasted roughly from the fifth to the late 15th centuries) to design the collection, he says that just like the castle and its myriad influences, clothes – his, in particular – have that same multifaceted ambiguity. “They can make you travel to different places and discover different languages,” he says. Michele likens approaching the octagonal structure – perched on top of a hill surrounded by valleys and fields – to “a mystical and slightly unsettling experience, like [visiting] a forgotten place. It’s like the set of a Stanley Kubrick film.” He envisioned the show, which took place slightly after sunset under a full moon on a cool evening, as a “rave”, adding that in spite of the solemn and magical aura of Castel del Monte, his clothes always reflect real life. “Making fashion nowadays is not just about being a dressmaker or a couturier for a rich woman,” he says. “Today, when you make a collection as a creative director, you can’t forget about the rest of the world. You can’t exclude anyone.” Featuring a gargantuan 101 looks, the show, named “Cosmogonie”, was a more restrained version of the “acid trips” Michele has delighted us with since he took the reins of Gucci in 2015. Thumping techno tunes juxtaposed with ethereal instrumental music provided the appropriate soundtrack for a collection that featured disparate outfits such as lavishly embellished denim separates, regal velvet gowns with voluminous capes, and shimmering dresses that made the wearer truly shine, as Michele himself puts it. The models walked against the backdrop of a firmament of stars and constellations projected on the white walls of the ancient structure but what they wore was very much of the moment and rooted in modern life. You could easily picture front-row guests Dakota Johnson , Elle Fanning and Paul Mescal – all young actors with great style – rocking these ensembles on a night out in Los Angeles or London. These were definitely garments to have fun in and not meant for the work-from-home reality many of us have become accustomed to. “It was so romantic and beautiful and the music was gorgeous,” said Fanning after the show. “The clothes were so stunning. Alessandro is a creative genius and as an actor, I find that he really creates characters. Each model has their own personality.” Mescal called the event the “craziest experience I’ve ever had at a fashion show”. “Alessandro’s beautiful clothes so gorgeously matched the backdrop,” he said. “It was such a theatrical experience; the theatre kid in me was like, wow.” The theatricality of Michele’s work has become a signature of his work at Gucci – Mescal definitely has a point – and he has said in the past that his early dream was to be a costume designer. His clothes, however, are not costumes but just eccentric enough to make a statement, which feels very right at a time when people are finally emerging from their pandemic cocoons and enjoying the outside world with gusto. Michele conjured up this escapist fantasy during a very turbulent time, as war raged in Ukraine and fears loomed of the crisis with Russia possibly escalating into a global conflict. “The drive to do my job is even stronger [in light of what’s happening],” he says. “We see so much violence every day and the beauty we make is the only weapon against that. We need to be just as ‘violent’ in doing the opposite of that and respond to [what’s happening] by celebrating beauty and life.”