All Hail The King
GQ India|November 2017

For Alessandro Michele, the creative force behind Gucci’s resurgence, it’s all about the beauty – and giving the people what they want

Richard Clune
All Hail The King

"You are not here.” It’s an inauspicious start to our Milanese date with Gucci’s new maestro, Alessandro Michele. “Sir, I can state again that you are not here.”

And so he does, the burly, black-clad bouncer whose angular physicality suggests Eastern European over Italian, firmly reiterating the error made, that this is not our point of entry. Not today.

It seems the heavy tint and lithe, low-slung lines of the Audi that’s ferried us to Gucci’s so-called Hub, on the industrial outskirts of the city, is to blame, passing an initial checkpoint, the first means of division that we were waved through, and arriving at the velvet rope apparently not meant for us.

Further along we shuffle, to attach to other members of the general public and a moving queue that arrives at a lengthy courtyard informing but a minor piece of Gucci’s recently opened HQ – a dramatic 35,000sqm plot of functional, squared buildings of glass and brick and open space on a site that once housed Caproni Aeronautics.

Our stuttering debut is made all the more amusing on eagerly waving back to a familiar face across the growing crowd, a child-like display of excited expressiveness and flapping... Only to realise his gesturing is actually for the attractive blonde standing directly behind. We smile back.

No cigarettes allowed. Not here, beyond the rope, within the sanctum. Filthy habit, anyway. And so, instead, we take in Alexa Chung – looking surprised, as she does, not a striped Michael Kors top in sight.

The overachieving Brit “It” stares down the multiple phone cameras of kids who’ll have likely spoken about themselves, without hesitation or remorse, in the third person at some point during the previous 24 hours. Today, they’ll immediately post their captures to the millions of followers they apparently have.

Esta historia es de la edición November 2017 de GQ India.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

Esta historia es de la edición November 2017 de GQ India.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

MÁS HISTORIAS DE GQ INDIAVer todo
The 30 Best Watches Of 2024
GQ India

The 30 Best Watches Of 2024

Rounding up the best shapes, materials, complications and sizes from this year's horological novelty treasure chest.

time-read
10+ minutos  |
October - November 2024
Wes Lang's Heroes of Love...
GQ India

Wes Lang's Heroes of Love...

Last month, LA-based artist Wes Lang unveiled The Black Paintings, a monumental series of works that play like storyboards to a raucous midnight horror movieand a spiritual quest. Here, GQ collaborates with the artist on a fashion story that brings his stylish characters off the canvas.

time-read
8 minutos  |
October - November 2024
The Miraculous Resurrection of Notre Dame
GQ India

The Miraculous Resurrection of Notre Dame

In 2019, a fire nearly destroyed the crown jewel of France-and the nation set a breakneck five-year deadline to bring it back from the ashes. This is the story of how an army of artisans turned back centuries to restore Notre-Dame by hand, and wound up reviving something even greater than the cathedral itself.

time-read
10+ minutos  |
October - November 2024
"IT'S NOT ABOUT BEING PERFECT. IT'S ABOUT BEING REVOLUTIONARY."
GQ India

"IT'S NOT ABOUT BEING PERFECT. IT'S ABOUT BEING REVOLUTIONARY."

Beyoncé Knowles-Carter talks business, legacy, art, and family

time-read
10+ minutos  |
October - November 2024
The Wedding Singers
GQ India

The Wedding Singers

Madboy Mink's dynamic duo, Saba Azad and Imaad Shah, redefine festive style.

time-read
5 minutos  |
October - November 2024
A Watch Is More Than Just a Pretty Face
GQ India

A Watch Is More Than Just a Pretty Face

As collectors look to make their grail watches stand out, they're turning to unique vintage bracelets and paying thousands on thousands for straps on the secondary market.

time-read
3 minutos  |
October - November 2024
The Fluidity of Cartier
GQ India

The Fluidity of Cartier

Why Gen Z stars are obsessed with this historic maison.

time-read
2 minutos  |
October - November 2024
A Princess with Passion
GQ India

A Princess with Passion

From restoring monuments to reviving hereditary crafts, Bhavnagar's Brijeshwari Kumari Gohil has her sights on the future.

time-read
6 minutos  |
October - November 2024
THE FUTURE SOUNDS LIKE AT EEZ
GQ India

THE FUTURE SOUNDS LIKE AT EEZ

The Coachella-slaying, multi-language-singing, genre-obliterating members of Ateez are quickly becoming load-bearing stars of our global pop universe.

time-read
10 minutos  |
August - September 2024
DEMNA UNMASKED
GQ India

DEMNA UNMASKED

He's the most influential designer of the past decade. He's also the most controversial. Now the creative director of Balenciaga is exploring a surprising source of inspiration: happiness. GQ's Samuel Hine witnesses the dawn of Demna's new era, in Paris, New York, and Shanghai. Photographs by Jason Nocito.

time-read
10+ minutos  |
August - September 2024