In one of the last scenes of the film “Gucci House”, which is released today (Thursday) in Israel and around the world, Maurizio Gucci completes the transformation from an exploited man to an exploiter, from the young man captivated by Patricia Reggiani to the traitor who leaves her broken behind, son Who did not want to take part in the family fashion business to the key figure who steers Gucci to global success with the introduction of young designer Tom Ford as artistic director and integration of external investors in the family brand.
In a collection of consecutive scenes, he is photographed in the studio by Richard Abdon, then the important portrait and fashion photographer, and in a meeting with Anna Wintour, then the incoming fashion editor of Vogue America magazine. “I want the Gucci stores,” he tells the mesmerized Wintour behind timeless sunglasses with her protégé Andre Leon Tally next to her, “will be the Vatican of fashion.” No wonder many women and men hold brand bags close to their chests like a cross.
The Gucci House Trailer
(Courtesy of Film Forum)
Director Ridley Scott’s new film is coming out this week in parallel with the fashion house’s centenary celebrations, founded by Gucci Gucci in 1921 in Florence. In addition to a special collection created in collaboration with the Balenciaga House, Gucci presented the Spring-Summer 2022 collection at a special show held on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles with a face to the film industry.
(Gucci fashion show in Los Angeles)
Unlike movies related to the fashion industry where clothing and stylistic heritage are a major player in the plot (aka “The Devil Wears Prada”, “Sex and the City”), “Gucci House” is a family drama. The clothes are present in it, but the plot navigates through its protagonists Primary and secondary. “The film is about a toxic family, and less about fashion,” admits Oscar-winning costume designer Genty Yates, who has been working closely with Scott since 2012.
“This week Ridley spoke on the BBC program ‘Today’ and said they’re like the Medici family from the ‘Burges’ TV series. And it’s true, did you know that Gucci was murdered? Because no one in America knew and no one in Europe knew the story , Except for every mother, son and dog in Italy.Only when Gianni Versace was murdered in Miami (in 1997, Israel), the story became international news. Now we are finally bringing the Gucci story to the general public. ”
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“Contemporary Gucci is not what I would necessarily wear, but Billy Aylish wears them every day.” Genty Yates
(Photo: Press)
Yates worked on the costume design for about six weeks, during which she had to create hundreds of costumes for all the participants in the film, as well as travel from Europe to the United States to measure the clothes on the two main actors – Lady Gaga as Reggian and Adam Driver as Gucci – after careful research. The period and history of the fashion house.
Naturally, the screen is occupied by Lady Gaga in the role of “The Black Widow”, the nickname given to Reggiani after the assassination she ordered at Gucci, two years after he finally divorced her and moved in with his girlfriend Paula Franchi (whose character is perfectly contrasted with Reggiani and embodied by French actress Camille Cotin).
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“Lady Gaga went down to the last detail of every earring, bag, belt and brooch”
(Photo: Press)
During the film, Reggiani goes through a long psychological and personal process, which is also reflected in the way she is dressed and stylish: from a sensual Italian young woman with a look reminiscent of Elizabeth Taylor, to a manipulative femme fatale, fur lover and exaggerated giant jewelry that redefined her status as a Gucci family member. י. Like in the scene where she points to a gold ring adorned with diamonds in front of her husband Maurizio, and says “this is our name, sweet” when he asks her not to interfere in the family business that bears his name.
“I asked Ridley: Do you want her like Joan Collins?” Yates laughs at the question of whether Alexis from the soap opera “Dynasty” was an inspiration to her, “and he immediately answered no. -60. We adopted from her all sorts of motifs, like a light cream-colored lace dress with a top that Patricia wore for a family visit to Lake Como, a dress we actually took from a photo of Llobrigida, and also the wedding dress in the movie. In the end, she’s more Elizabeth Taylor than Joan Collins. ”
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“She did not necessarily wear a lot of Gucci. She wore a lot of other designers.”
(Photo: Press)
Yates did not meet with Patricia Reggiani in favor of the investigation, and neither did Lady Gaga. In general, she says, she preferred Scott’s recommendation to concentrate on making a feature film. However, the fact that Regiani is based on a living woman and not on a fictional character, helped her in the work process, as it was easier to resort to filmed references. “We copied from pictures evening dresses she wore, like a red dress she wears at the beginning of the film. We took a lot of clothes from all sorts of places, to put together her own looks,” Yates adds. “She didn’t necessarily wear a lot of Gucci. She wore a lot of other designers, like Yves Saint Laurent and Christian Dior, which allowed us freedom.”
The one who helped Lights design Reggiani’s character is Gaga herself, whom Yates calls throughout the initials LG. “Gaga was involved in the whole process. We created all the costumes from wonderful archives of vintage, and presented them to her. In addition, we also used Gaga’s personal vintage archive. She was very involved in every measurement – and every measurement was very long – and she adapted it to the scene, ”
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“We also used Gaga’s personal vintage archive.” Genty Yates and Lady Gaga
(Photo: Getty Images)
In addition, Yates was given the opportunity to use the Gucci archive in Florence, and the items were sent for measurements on Gaga in Los Angeles. “The original clothes fit Gaga like a glove next door,” Yates says.
“Genty is a genius and so wonderful to work with,” Lady Gaga said in an overseas interview. “The costumes helped me get into character, and we used fashion in so many different ways, that it almost became my second skin. But as with the wigs and makeup, it was always in the character’s service. “However, Gucci did not sew clothes specifically for the film. “)” Yates says, “and she just answered: No!”
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From the movie “Gucci House”
(Photo: Press)
One of the two clothing sets from the Gucci archive also accompanies one of the most interesting scenes in the film, which sheds light on behind-the-scenes business processes of Gucci and luxury brands in general. After moving to New York, Regiani returns to the apartment and sees on the counter in the kitchen a Gucci bag with a bamboo handle belonging to the maid, who in turn tells the boss that she received the bag as a gift from her husband. And inspired by it, of course.
Gucci bag in thousands of dollars is not a product within reach of the maid, which leads Reggiani to discover the replica market of fashion brands, which contributes to their publicity among women who can not afford an original item. Astonished by the level of copying, she takes to 42nd Street in Manhattan wearing a tunic adorned with a logo and matching pants, and discovers that the market is flooded with Gucci bags for $ 29.90, or as Maurizio’s uncle Aldo explains to her: “These are not fakes – these are replicas.”
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“The original clothes fit Gaga like a glove next to”
(Photo: Press)
Another arena where the movie “Gucci House” reveals the behind the scenes of the industry, is in the way the family members were stripped one after the other from the brand name. After exchanging several hands of businessmen, he is now in the hands of the French luxury corporation Kering of François Henry Pino, whose actress wife Selma Hayek participates in the film as a fortune teller.
When asked what she thinks of the fashionable legacy left by Gucci, Yates says that current artistic director Alessandro Michela manages to retain the original DNA. “When Tom Ford came in, he took a conservative brand and put it in the ’70s appeal, but Michela manages to preserve their fashion legacy. It’s not what I would necessarily wear, but Billy Aylish wears them every day, and so do Harry Styles and much of the generation. “He manages to keep Gucci in the front row of fashion houses.”
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