Gucci is known for its productions. The Italian luxury brand’s use of 3-D printed severed heads and Game of Thrones-esque dragons are proof enough of that. But a level of extravagance such as the one shown at the label’s fall ‘18 show is no longer feasible — at least for now, while most people are still in quarantine. Instead, creative director Alessadro Michele got crafty, with his last campaign arriving in the form of home videos taken and directed by his models in quarantine. For this one, he was able to gather today’s most formidable A-listers, including Oscar-winning actress and activist Jane Fonda, Grammy winner Lil Nas X, “Pussy Is God” singer King Princess, and more.
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Michele wouldn’t call on a group of this stature for just any reason, though. Rather, they gathered to model the first collection from Gucci’s Circular Lines initiative, a program that’s been in the works for some time now and is meant to reduce the house’s waste production levels and minimize its use of raw materials. The collection is titled “Gucci Off The Grid,” and is made only from recycled, organic, bio-based, and sustainably sourced materials like metal-free tanned leather, recycled polyester thread, recycled brass, and solvent-free adhesives. Its main material is 100% regenerated nylon created using ECONYL yarn that was recycled from pre- and post-consumer waste — a process that Gucci introduced in 2016.
The campaign includes both videos and imagery — shot and directed by film director Harmony Korine, the writer-director behind cult classic film Kids, as well as Spring Breakers and The Beach Bum — of the cast, which also includes Japan’s “Samurai Guitarist” Miyavi and environmentalist David de Rothschild. All five can be seen wearing pieces from the collection while building a treehouse and planting seeds in the middle of what looks like Central Park in New York City. “In the campaign, there is this idea of dialogue among people building something new,” Michele says in a press release. “I imagined that we could build a treehouse in a city centre, all together, like kids playing in the park. Because all of us need to build this house or to find out that our planet exists, even where it seems it’s not there, or it’s far away.”
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According to Michele, the juxtaposition of the treehouse and the skyscrapers behind it act as a metaphor for living — you guessed it — off the grid.
Starting Tuesday, the campaign will be posted on Gucci ArtWalls all around the world, from Lafayette Street in lower Manhattan to Hong Kong’s D’Aguilar Street. In addition, it also includes a virtual concept, which allows users to build their own city treehouses via a quiz in the Gucci App.