Here’s the situation. You have secured a powerful new job, replacing an ousted boss. Within five months, you have transformed the working practice of the office and developed a new creative language: you are a touchy-feely guy who is open to emotional engagement and empathy. And you have helped transform the business. Sales are up 4.6 per cent on negative stagnation and the company revenue percentage growth is up double digits. But your place of business is still the old boss’s office.
Such is the situation for Alessandro Michele, the creative director at Gucci and the man responsible for turning the fortunes of the Kering-owned behemoth around. Since his promotion in January (he was previously head of accessories and the then-designer Frida Giannini’s right-hand man), Michele has ushered in a radically new aesthetic and brought the house a cult-like following.
Gucci SS16, which showed on Wednesday in Milan, was one of the buzziest dates of the season. And in Milan, a city where fashion week can be a bit of a snooze: “I don’t understand why people are always talking about shaking things up in Milan,” he tells me from his seat in the Grand Hotel et de Milan, just after the show. “And how they want to do something about it in the future. Why not just do it now? Do it!”