Since Alessandro Michele took over as creative director at Gucci, the Italian house has been one of the most on-trend and covetable labels in fashion. This is, in part, due to his quirky aesthetic and eccentric designs, but he’s also been building the brand’s visual storytelling with a series of shoppable videos, a highly curated social media campaign and some of the most Instagramable shows in the industry. This week, 23 Stories, Condé Nast's in-house branded content studio, in partnership with Gucci, released its first major fashion project: a four part film series entitled The Myth of Orpheus and Eurydice.
Directed by Gia Coppola, the film features Lou Doillon, Marcel Castenmiller, Laura Love and a number of other Gucci favorites in the pre-fall collection. With an original score by Devonté Hynes and styling by costume designer Arianne Phillips, the project feels less like an advertising campaign and more like a beautifully done artistic composition—but make no mistake, the Gucci collection is still the star of the show. "This is the most creatively ambitious branded project we’ve embarked on to date,” Condé Nast CEO Bob Sauerberg said in a statement.
The film tells the story of Orpheus and Eurydice, reimagined for a modern audience by Dirk Standen and Hamish Anderson. In the original legend, shortly after the couple weds, Eurydice is killed by a viper and Orpheus travels to the underworld in an attempt to save her. He charms Hades with his lyre and is allowed to retrieve her, but only under one condition: he must not look back at her until they both reenter the world of the living or he will lose her forever. Of course this isn’t any classic Greek tragedy—every wedding guest is decked out in head-to-toe Gucci, Orpheus’ lyre is replaced with an electric guitar and hell is a seedy, yet fashionable basement night club in New York City.
It's too early to note whether or not the new medium will drive sales, but as far as campaigns go, it’s arguably one of the best. Without almost a single word, the story is told through heavy handed symbolism, represented in the structure, color and iconography of Michele’s designs. Whether you’re a fan of Gucci’s latest aesthetic or not the 10-minute film is worth a watch.
