PHYGITAL FASHION SHOWS ARE HERE TO STAY. GUCCI'S SS23 RUNWAY BUILDS ON THE MOVEMENT
Photo Matteo Canestraro
28 sep 2022,For frame
Design, Production
Brand
Music Direction
Alessandro Michele, Giovanni Attili
Music Composition
Challenging the monocentric runway, Gucci’s SS23 set symbolized aspects of the decentralization of one’s personal universe and the relationship between originals and copies.
Key features
The show, dubbed ‘Gucci Twinsburg’, was staged at The Gucci Hub, the brand’s Milan headquarters and livestreamed on Chinese social media platforms. Gucci's creative director Alessandro Michele built up the SS23 show on his personal experience of being raised by two mothers: twin sisters. The physical set was composed of two asymmetrical rooms enveloped in an expanded-metal coat and punctuated by photo walls. Its mesh structure was industrial and functional, with the existing building still visible beneath. Black-and-white close-ups of the show’s twin models – 68 pairs to be precise – captured by Mark Peckmezian dressed the photo walls. When the walls were lifted, spectators realized they had been attending two separate but identical shows.
The livestream, meanwhile, appeared on Tencent's Super QQ Show, a 3D-interactive space where users can dress in virtual fashion pieces, watch shows, socialize and play games in various scenarios with digital currency. On Weibo, Gucci’s presentation attracted over 26 million views within an hour.
Frame's take
In spatial composition, the threshold marks the distinction between spaces and objects – it indicates the next part of the journey, or becomes a reminder of things you have already experienced. With its SS23 show, Gucci challenges the idea of the fashion runway as a monocentric space, focused on singular identities and looks at any given time. Simultaneously, the brand presentation also supports the notion that a show can exist beyond the constraints of time and place, its physical iteration matched with a digital strategy. And this a move we’re seeing much more of from luxury players lately – the concept of the phygital fashion set develops with each new season.