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https://scmp.com/magazines/style/celebrity/article/3144824/house-guccis-costume-drama-lady-gaga-looks-chic-most-cast Celebrities
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
- 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
Lady Gaga’s portrayal of Patrizia Reggiani in Ridley Scott’s forthcoming biopic House of Gucci has been called an idealised portrait, but not everyone in the family is said to have benefitted from the cinematic treatment. Photo: @houseofgucci/Instagram
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.
The ill-fated relationship between Patrizia, Maurizio and this famous Florentine family is the subject of a new Ridley Scott movie, adapted from Forden’s book. The luxury brand founded by Guccio Gucci in 1921 (now owned by luxury conglomerate Kering) happily collaborated with Scott and his long-time costume designer Janty Yates on dressing the characters in the film – providing the production team with unfettered access to the house’s historical archive for wardrobe and props.
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.
By all indications, the cinematic Patrizia, portrayed by modern day fashion icon Lady Gaga, be will be a somewhat idealised version of the real thing. Footage and images show her sporting glamorous designer skiwear, plush fur coats, slinky metallic dresses, a frou-frou 80s Chanel couture frock, and signature Gucci garments including a 60s GG monogram dress drawn from the brand’s archive.
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”.
Lady Gaga in central Milan, Italy, on the set of the new Ridley Scott movie House of Gucci, in March 2021. Photo: AFP
That approach works to the advantage of the businesslike Maurizio, portrayed by Adam Driver in the classic British-influenced tailoring favoured by many an affluent Italian gent. The other leading Gucci men aren’t quite so fortunate, with Yates using costuming as an outward expression of personality flaws. In tandem with perceived miscasting, this has caused unhappiness among living members of the family.
Lady Gaga and Adam Driver on set for House of Gucci, shooting at Villa Balbiano on Lake Como, Italy, in March 2021. Photo: EPA-EFE
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.”
House of Gucci stars Lady Gaga, Adam Driver, Al Pacino, Jared Leto, Jack Huston, Reeve Carney and Jeremy Irons. Photo: AFP
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.”)
“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.