Seeing Double

Alessandro Michele's Gucci Spring/Summer 2023 collection toyed with the notions of individualism and social connections through a show that saw identical twins marching down the runway in identical ensembles.

- JOHN NG

In retrospect, it’s apparent that Alessandro Michele has been displaying an obsessive interest in twins for years, from the severed heads at his Autumn/Winter 2018 show to dressing in matching outfits as Jared Leto at last year’s Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute Gala — especially in his final show for Gucci titled Twinsburg, which starred 68 pairs of actual real-life twins walking down the runway hand in hand. Who would have guessed that simply holding hands could be so commanding? The comparable silhouettes, staged in a stainless steel silver environment covered with black and white pictures of twins and doppelgängers by Canadian photographer Mark Peckmezian, call into question the notion of uniqueness in a culture that values collaborative coexistence.