While it seems like you’re seeing double, Alessandro Michele invites you to take a second look.
“Never expect fashion to run out of gimmicks” is what one would probably think after seeing Alessando Michele’s recent show for Gucci.
As the name suggests, Twinsburg (which is, incidentally, a city in Ohio) featured 68 sets of identical twins wearing the same garments—and yes, there was a set of twins who were from Twinsburg.
But make no mistake: Twinsburg is more than a creative decision or mere gimmick. As Michele himself pens, he is a son of two mothers: “Two extraordinary women who made their twinship the ultimate seal of their existence. They lived in the same body. They dressed and combed their hair in the same way. They were magically mirrored. One multiplied the other. That was my world, perfectly double and doubled.”
The designer fondly recalls his childhood with his “two mothers,” citing that their “duplicated and expanded love gave rise to [his] eternal fascination for the double, for the things that seem to reflect equal to themselves. And this extends to his fascination with twins, of the “impossibility of the perfectly identical,” of nature’s attempt to create symmetry, yet foiled by the wildly different lives that twins may lead.
Michele writes further:
“Twinsburg plays this game, producing a tension in the relationship between original and copy. As if by magic, clothes duplicate. They seem to lose their status of singularity. The effect is alienating and ambiguous.
Almost a rift in the idea of identity, and then, the revelation: the same clothes emanate different qualities on seemingly identical bodies. Fashion, after all, lives on serial multiplications that don’t hamper the most genuine expression of every possible individuality.”
The result is a spectacle that seems to be one of a kind, for all its duplicity—that the intricate patterns, clean cuts, and diverse silhouettes were seen in perfect parallel, yet still distinct in their own individuality, creates this unique effect that makes us think about questions on originality, authenticity, and expressing yourself amid our sameness and differences.
Gucci’s decision to be playful and experimental at Milan Fashion Week drums up excitement on how the house will push its presentations further, especially since the brand has appointed its new CEO for Gucci Vault and Metaverse Ventures, Robert Triefus.
In his new role, Triefus will focus on emerging opportunities for brand expansion, shaping and scaling the House’s Metaverse and gaming strategies as well as overseeing Gucci Vault, the new experimental online space launched in September 2021.
Check out more looks from Twinsburg below, as well as the celebrities who graced the show in Milan:
Damiano D’Innocenzo wore Exquisite Gucci look 57 natural yellow shiny calf leather jacket with all-over printed python motif with a bronze satin shirt, natural yellow shiny calf leather pants with all-over printed python motif and black leather and green Demetra lace-up boots with Gucci and Trefoil detail on the heel. Fabio D’Innocenzo wore Exquisite Gucci look 17 adidas x Gucci beige, red and multicolor fall check wool jacket with eco-fur and embroidery detail with a sky blue cotton shirt, beige, red and multicolor fall check wool pants with embroidery detail and black leather boots with buckle detail. MILAN, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 23: Damiano D’Innocenzo and Fabio D’Innocenzo arrive at the Gucci show during Milan Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2023 on September 23, 2022 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images for Gucci)
Julia Garner wore Gucci Cosmogonie look 27 black silk viscose velvet jumpsuit with wide shoulder straps, pockets and bi-color resin buttons with a metal choker with gold finish and glass pearls, natural python printed leather high heel sandals and a black leather Dionysus mini shoulder bag. MILAN, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 23: Julia Garner arrives at the Gucci show during Milan Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2023 on September 23, 2022 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images for Gucci)IU wore an Exquisite Gucci grey and multicolor wool all-over GG motif two button peak lapel suit with an ivory silk GG shirt, black leather tie, black patent leather high heelswith ankle-strap closure and a beige and ivory GG Supreme canvas Gucci Horsebit 1955 mini top handle bag. MILAN, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 23: Lee Ji-eun arrives at the Gucci show during Milan Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2023 on September 23, 2022 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images for Gucci)
Fionn O’Shea wore an Exquisite Gucci blue and camel fine wool Horsebit jacquard knit sweater with blue fluid drill cropped pants, black leather belt with gold square buckle and black leather loafers with gold ‘Gucci’ detail. MILAN, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 23: Fionn O’Shea arrives at the Gucci show during Milan Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2023 on September 23, 2022 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images for Gucci)
Daisy Edgar-Jones wore Gucci Cosmogonie look 91 black and red fine wool jacquard mini dress with puff sleeve and pointed collar detail with black sheer tights with polka dots, black leather high heel platform sandals and a black leather Gucci Bamboo 1947 mini top handle bag with studs. MILAN, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 23: Daisy Edgar-Jones arrives at the Gucci show during Milan Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2023 on September 23, 2022 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images for Gucci)Heart Evangelista wore Gucci Cosmogonie look 40 ivory and blackwool long sleeve V-neck bi-color striped jacket with frontal button closure with an ivory and black wool bi-color striped midi skir, black and white felt hat and a black leather Jackie 1961 mini bag with metallic piston closure. MILAN, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 23: Heart Evangelista arrives at the Gucci show during Milan Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2023 on September 23, 2022 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images for Gucci)
