Gucci, Off-White and Margiela Show Off Unique Collections at Spring/Summer 2020 Fashion Week

Image credit: Pixabay

Alessandro Michele, Gucci’s creative director, put on an astonishing show at the Spring Summer 2020 Ready-to-Wear fashion week. The show started on a mint green conveyor belt. Remixed words played loudly throughout the show, featuring different quotes from various people, adding to the one-of-a-kind atmosphere.

The first look of the show was a black dress with a sheer torso, exposing the model’s entire chest. Michele’s choice was bold, and a wonderful way to start the show. Various female models throughout the show held black riding crops. Sheer fabric, lace, nudity and latex were huge motifs throughout the show, with multiple models strutting the runway sans bra.

Out of Michele’s collections with Gucci, this one seems to be the most edgy and risque. One accessory was a pillow backpack with leather straps. I’d love to know what was going through Michele’s head when he thought of that one.

Besides Gucci’s signature gaudy jewelry and clothing, one accessory stuck out the most: sunglasses. While Gucci is always known for having outrageous eyewear, they took it to the next level this time. Connected to the sunglasses were bulky, industrial-like chains that have been trendy lately.

With the rise of TikTok and the e-girl/e-boy style, chunky jewelry has made a comeback and designers are picking up on it. The links of the sunglass chain are obnoxiously large, reaching down to the middle of the chest. Only Gucci could pull of dramatic sunglasses like this!

Other highlights from Gucci’s show include chunky suede boots that come in red and neon green, mismatched grey and neon sneakers, and a full denim suit, which gave me Justin Timberlake vibes.

I talked to freshman, Hannah Damanka, about her opinion on the show.

Damanka said, “I think this collection really pushes the envelope of what we consider to be acceptable in fashion.”

Damanka detailed the materials used in the collection, describing how she liked “the juxtaposition between the toughness of the metal accessories versus the softness of the mesh pieces.”

Damanka discussed her interest in Michele’s decisions.

“I think Michele does some interesting things with mixing fabrics and patterns, making combinations I would never think of," Damanka said.

Damanka explained her interest in the outerwear’s structure.

“All of the outerwear is impeccably structured and have really interesting silhouettes.” Damanka said. “Overall the collection was really fascinating and to look through and exposed me to some concepts I’ve never seen before!”

After Gucci’s disorienting airport baggage claim themed show came Maison Margiela, led by creative director John Galliano. This show was the most unorthodox I have ever seen, and it had nothing to do with the clothing.

The first model strutted out onto the runway, giving a leaning exaggerated walk with a swift turn to walk back. The intensity of the walk enhanced the outfit each model was wearing. Galliano’s collection struck me as refreshing because it challenged what male and female silhouettes should look like—one sashay at a time.

To get a model’s point of view on Galliano’s collection, I interviewed freshman Camille Lorente. Lorente is signed to Genesislevel models and has walked in DC Fashion Week.

“I...haven’t seen the whole video of all of them walking, but I was not a fan of the walk of the last look that I saw—basically running down the runway and just walking with your neck forward...I just didn’t really enjoy that and it takes away from the clothes,” Lorente said.

Lorente explained why she disliked the models’ walks.

“I also think it’s a little over the top, where it’s like, are you doing something different for a reason, or are you just doing this to have something weird so it stands out?” Lorente said.

Many of the male models wore black knee-high boots along with the women, exemplifying that clothes should have no gender boundaries. The male models wore suits and jeans, but with a center slit in the right leg. They also donned colorful ascots that added to their ensembles.

Lorente noticed the attention to detail as well.

“They have the mesh thing covering some of their faces, they have some of the guys in earrings, and a lot of belts...they had a cinched waist belt on this guy, and I like how they incorporated that for guys’ and girls’ looks.” Lorente said.

Highlights of the collection include nun-like head coverings and coats with an asymmetrical fur collar. Inspiration was taken from the military, with models wearing jackets with an exaggerated shape similar to bomber jackets, which was a pattern throughout the collection.

The standout piece in the show was a cropped suit jacket with a raw hem and service ribbons. The top’s sleeves were the same length as the rest of the garment, acting as a palate cleanser for the myriad of asymmetry happening throughout this collection. While this probably won’t appear on many Instagram pages soon, I do think we will see more exaggerated versions of the classic bomber jacket. This staple piece has yet to leave people’s closets and social media. Galliano’s version reinvents the classic trend into something more bold and interesting, definitely a jacket I can imagine many people wearing this fall.

Lorente’s final thoughts were simple.

“I think the collection overall is kind of all over the place. It’s not extremely cohesive...I don’t love it—the collection. But there are some really cool pieces in here.” Lorente said.

Finally, Off-White’s SS20 women’s show blew me away. Creative director and founder of Off-White, Virgil Abloh strayed away from the basic sweatshirts and tees he is typically known for and took a more creative approach.

The silhouettes Abloh chose were average, but the design took them to the next level. White see through ribbed tank tops, black leather pants, purses, jeans, oversized tees, arm-length gloves and almost every other type of clothing had circular cutouts. Freshman Maria Soboleva liked the design of the collection.

“...I noticed...that a lot of the pieces kind of used a nude bodysuit with something to cover over so you could really see the design and texture better. I kind of like that. It’s a smart idea to show off clothes that...are kind of like, not really clothes.” Soboleva said.

She pointed out look seven, a red fishnet dress over a nude bodysuit.

Abloh played with the cutout idea all throughout the collection, even creating what I call “cheese shoes”: bulky boots filled with holes. Model Josefine Lynderup wore these shoes with a mustard yellow ribbed knit ruffle dress. The dress was very simple and the ruffle being a darker yellow added a nice contrast to the garment as a whole.

Freshman Maria Soboleva liked most of the footwear, “but the boots with the weird cutouts, they had a weird shape. They were white boots and multiple models had them on. And they’re not in the shape of a regular boot.”

Soboleva also pointed out Off-White’s unique accessories.

“I really liked a lot of the earrings...There were like, a few bright pink ones and white ones that I really enjoyed.”

What I like to call the “kite dress” and the sky blue tie dye top and romper were memorable pieces. The kite dress had three versions, but the most striking was the bright shade of fuschia pink Bella Hadid closed the show with. The dress hit her knees in the front and was longer in the back, creating a seamless ruffled texture. Hadid’s dress flowed beautifully behind her, and she resembled a goddess.

Soboleva liked this dress as well.

“I liked the thinner ones more rather than the flaring skirt. The one that Gigi’s wearing, that one’s really nice. I think it fits her well and it seems comfortable. And then the next one kinda looks like a prom dress," Soboleva said.

The hue of Hadid’s oval Y2K sunglasses complemented the dress, and the loud colors were broken up by the white trim of the garment and her white heels.

The Y2K trend was rampant throughout this collection, with the rimless, futuristic glasses dominating the runway. This era is already rising in popularity, and next year, clothing from the year 2000 will technically count as “vintage.”

Soboleva explains her final thoughts on Virgil Abloh’s collection.

“Overall, I found the collection ready to wear, definitely. It is for the most part, something I feel could be accessible to mainstream fashion, at least some pieces. But some pieces were also kind of over the top.” Soboleva said.

Overall, Gucci, Maison Margiela, and Off-White were three standouts of Spring/Summer 2020 Fashion week. Each collection had their own focus— Michele’s bright colors and bluntness, Galliano’s “hope, heroines, and liberation,” and Abloh’s shapes and textures—all while taking old trends and shaping them into something new.