No one would dream of wearing Gucci.” Yes, that was a real statement made in the ’90s by Dawn Mello, who was then its creative director. The brand was desperate to re-establish its position in women’s fashion and even its own team was about to give up on it. But just before they did, entered Tom Ford, who brought along some wonderfully wild ideas for the brand. In 1995, Ford worked with French stylist Carine Roitfeld and photographer Mario Testino to conceptualise a modern advertising campaign that put sex on the shelf of a luxury store. There was a sudden surge of pornographic closeness and well-oiled nakedness on billboards. Gucci had the industry instantly and everlastingly infatuated with it. Within a couple of years, the sales shot up by 90 per cent.
To honour the turnaround that the brand made under Ford, Gucci has created two rooms in its museum in Florence. The present creative director, Alessandro Michele, was chosen by Ford to work with him in Gucci’s London office in 2002 and is an open ardent admirer of his mentor.
The Tom Ford rooms at the Gucci Museo showcase women’s and men’s ready-to-wear in one room and accessories in another. According to Michele, the aim of the spaces is to remind people of the way in which Ford encouraged self-expression by developing a distinctive, sensual aesthetic for the House. The decor and the provocative discipline in the display captures the mood imagined by Ford.The ready-to-wear room is cherry red from floor to ceiling. Although lifeless, dummies with studded faces that stand around in here look sexually charged. Michele has curated the looks that they involuntarily flaunt.
In the accessories room, the colour palette shifts from red to pink. Mauve lilac matelassé coats the walls, and the ceiling is painted to match, while only the carpet remains cherry red. Here, the objects on display are the Gucci GG G-string, a pair of handcuffs and a dog collar. These are displayed in the discipline of artefacts, under spot lights on glass shelves.
Like old friends, Ford and Gucci have picked up from where they left off.