It was only a matter of time before Gucci’s head honcho Alessandro Michele and pop heartthrob Harry Styles would collaborate on a collection.
Longtime besties, the two became close as Michele made his debut at the helm of the house and Styles embarked on his disgustingly successful solo career. During their respective ascents to stardom, they continued to coalesce around each other – Styles has appeared in multiple Gucci campaigns, and wears the brand extensively (in fact, news of the collaboration emerged the day after he headlined Wembley Stadium, clad, obviously, in Gucci.) While Michele has applauded his “incredible sense of fashion”.
But it’s more than #PaidAdvertisement, the As It Was singer has become an emblem for Michele’s sensitive, genderless vision, so it was only right that the 28-year-old lent his creative mind for an internet-breaking collaboration.
“The idea of working together came to me one day while we were talking on the phone: I proposed creating a ‘dream wardrobe’ with him, starting from those small oddities that come together in childlike visions,” explained Michele on the collaboration’s conception in a statement. “We ended up with a mix of aesthetics from 1970s pop and bohemian to the revision of the image of the gentleman in an overturned memory of men’s tailoring.”
Titled HA HA HA, the name of the collection nods to Harry and Alessandro’s first initials, but also to the way they’ve traditionally signed off their messages to one another over the years. “HA HA HA is the serial crasis of the initials of ‘Harry’ and ‘Alessandro’, but it is also the onomatopoeic sound of the written essence of an emoji, the ‘laughing face’,” said Gucci.
Unveiled during the menswear show in Milan, the collection features eccentric yet traditional English tailoring, camp velvet suits in vibrant shades, OTT pleated kilts and printed silk pyjamas which are all very much the love-child of Styles and Michele.
