Death Becomes Her

In an ancient Roman necropolis in Arles, Alessandro Michele brought to life clothes for the modern vanguard. PRIYANKA KHANNA comes back both spooked and inspired

One of my favourite aspects of travelling for the cruise shows is the immersive experiences that the houses create around the collections. Even before the designs have hit the runway, the clothes transport you to the mindspace of the designer. So, when we headed to Provence to celebrate Gucci’s cruise 2019 show, it was all about appreciating a more leisurely pace, focusing on local artisans and marketplaces, natural beauty (the limestone quarries, some of which serve as a backdrop for the Carrières de Lumières, a multimedia show exhibiting Picasso at the time) and, of course, good food and wine. “It’s a slower, more meaningful way of living,” a local pondered about days filled with family, friends and rosé. The region in south-eastern France is known for its vitality, both physically with its soil—it’s an agricultural mecca, with the vineyards, olives and lavender fields flourishing—and also more metaphysically, having inspired artists such as Vincent van Gogh, Picasso and Cézanne, to name just a few. If our days were filled with learning to live, Alessandro Michele, in a Michele-ian twist only he could conjure up, set his runway in an ancient burial ground. Our evening in Provence, in direct contrast to our day, was quite literally shrouded by the dead. Here’s why the spook-tacular evening will go down in fashion history books.

THE LOCATION WAS LIT