The Cult of Gucci

Floral jacquard bag

High-heel T-strap sandal with scarabshaped jewel

Red leather platform moccasin with crystal embroidery

Gucci creative director Alessandro Michele

HAT DO ELTON JOHN ’ S enormous ’70s glitter glasses, Venetian prostitutes’ historic platform shoes and classic Hollywood’s boudoir glamour have in common? The spring 2017 collection and the fertile imagination of creative director , who rose from relative obscurity to rock the fashion world and earn a virtual army of wildly devoted referred to Milan as “Micheleville,” and made the point of his outsize influence clear: “The story of the Gucci resurgence has become so ubiquitous, it is one of the defining narratives of not just the city, but the industry.” It would probably be easier to list those few celebrities and fashion mavens who have not gone gaga for Gucci (if you could find any) than to give an adequate accounting of Michele’s famous clientele: , , , , , , , it-girl and blogger and, of course, First Lady , whose “bomb pussybow blouse” and “Gucci swag” got a shout-out in a skit. Michele’s vision is uniquely of-the-moment in ways few could have guessed, and now in ways every luxury house would like to emulate. fashion director Ken Downing says Michele’s “offkilter cool, with a vintage charm, and his love of the garden, wildlife and a hefty dose of Gucci heritage have brought legions back to a house that many fashion followers had forgotten.”