GUCCI AND THE SIMULATION OF REALITY

False expectations produce false results. The Gucci FW 2026/27 show, signed by Demna Gvasalia in the sharp analysis by Alessandro Turci

Gucci FW 2026/27, rivers of words written and spoken, a long wait (now a year) that has generated falsely high expectations, also given the figure and the often intelligent narratives that Demna Gvasalia had accustomed us to with Vetements first and Balenciaga then.

Reality is the raw kind of everyday life, the one we observe in the newspapers and are struck by the recurrences that History unfortunately offers us. The banality of evil — without invoking Hannah Arendt here — becomes merely a desperate obsession with generating surprise in order to sell clothes and handbags.

Good manners would dictate that when one has nothing relevant to say, it is better to remain silent. And yet the art director’s job is to create a fascination that is new each time, grounded in a clear sartorial vision, built on research into materials and forms, on a different attitude that brings that element of novelty which distinguishes the true creator.

Even if Julian Rosefeldt, back in 2018, suggested to us, through a masterful performance by Cate Blanchett in Manifesto, that “Nothing is original…” everything is interpretation, and that therefore what matters is not where one draws inspiration from, but where one takes it.

Here, both were missing: direction and vision. Little was achieved by the explanation about a critique of a certain Milanese attitude, somewhat vulgar, escort-like, and not even of the luxury kind. The figures seemed to have stepped out of another context entirely, symbols of a nothingness we did not want to believe in. And then the link see/desire/buy never clicked. Everything was incredibly pointless. If we want to talk about usefulness in Fashion during these terrible times.

A sentiment shared by many other collections that seem to have hit a wall, waiting perhaps for new economic conditions and a social recovery.

And yet life and the History of Fashion had accustomed us to noting that in difficult times creativity sharpens, that in precariousness genius makes an unexpected leap. So what has changed compared to before? The language.

The mainstream, the sharing, the confusion between reality and its simulation. The idea that something, in order to be viral and shareable, must be accessible means that language is impoverished, lowered to the level of the obvious.

The image is consumed but does not evoke. We have moved from wonder that creates knowledge to the wow effect of Artificial Intelligence. Gratified by the fantasy of spectacle, we reverse course only to discover that behind the creative gimmick, there is nothing. To paraphrase a celebrated 1985 film — Nothing Underneath. If we continue at this pace, we will want to watch more than listen. The neurotic search for novelty as a diversion will gradually make us forget our cultural roots. We will become devoid of history.

Alessandro Turci speaking