Gucci Cosmogonie Show

The stars aligned as Alessandro Michele delivered cosmic wonders at the Gucci Cosmogonie show.

- Ian Loh

Cosmogony (cos.mog-o-ny) 1: a theory of the origin of the universe, 2: the creation or origin of the world or universe.

On May 16, a total lunar eclipse that formed a deep red blood moon made its way across the night sky, giving stargazers a dramatic, multifaceted show. Combining all of spring's energy of renewal and self-discovery, the lunar eclipse, also known as Super Flower Blood Moon, was truly a powerful cosmic event.

Hours later, regal fashion danced under the moonlight in medieval Puglia, where Gucci lords and ladies glided through the 13th century Castel del Monte, an octagonal prism that has served at times as a hunting lodge or a prison.

Crowning a hill in the Apulian city of Andria, the mysterious castle sits seemingly isolated 540 m above sea level where it is bathed in light at every hour of the day. Given its formal perfection and harmonious blending of various elements from Northern Europe, the Islamic world and classical antiquity, Castel del Monte perfectly represents a crossroads of different peoples, cultures, civilisations and religions-much like the 300 over guests who flew in from all around the world for the destination show.

The collection, entitled "Cosmogonie", implied the creation of a new system of stars, and fittingly, celebrities were ever-present and dazzling at the castle. And while various stars like Lana

Del Rey, Elle Fanning, Dakota Johnson, Jodie Turner-Smith, Paul Mescal, Måneskin amongst others watched on in sartorial awe, it was the designs themselves which truly captured the constellations. Parsing allusions that traverse time and space, Alessandro Michele looked to the stars (perhaps quite literally and figuratively) in designing this collection, transferring the conceptual anchor of Walter Benjamin's quotations and ideas into aesthetic form.