The Meaning—and the Makers—Behind the Fantastical Special Effects at Alessandro Michele’s Gucci Show
Gucci’s Fall 2018 Creatures Designed by Makinarium
The fact that Alessandro Michele is a film buff is no surprise—sooner or later we’ll see him behind the camera, no? And while waiting for this moment to happen, we had proof of his cinematic penchant at his Fall show for Gucci today. On a runway set up as a pale green operating theater, he had models carrying exact replicas of their heads in their hands. Another sported a third eye, identical to her own, sprouted as if by magic on her forehead. We saw a “fawn” strut down the catwalk, baby horns and all, while a chameleon and a coral snake kept others models company. And, oh, there was also a little dragon, lulled by a beautiful creature dressed in one of Michele’s typically extravagant concoctions.
To achieve the awe-inspiring, freakishly stunning replicas, Michele worked with Makinarium, a Rome-based factory of techno-artisans who produce bespoke special and visual effects. From Cinecittà, where they have their atelier, they’ve worked with Ridley Scott, Vlad Marsavin, Danny Boyle, and Ben Stiller.
“Alessandro reached out to us unexpectedly—we didn’t know each other,” said Leonardo Cruciano, who founded the collective with Nicola Sganga and Angelo Poggi. “He had very precise ideas about what he wanted to achieve. It was a great collaboration; he’s a true artist, with a real passion, a fantasy so intense and inspiring it pushes you forward.” The process of creating the replicas is painstakingly meticulous. It took six months to give life to the extraordinary pieces, and Makinarium worked with an array of medias, from molds of the actual models’ heads to 3-D prints and scans.
Michele became interested in working with Makinarium after seeing the 2016 movie The Tale of Tales by the Italian director Matteo Garrone, with whom they collaborated. As for the meaning behind the model who carried her own head? Let’s call it a metaphor for carrying the spiritual burden of one’s own evolution and self-awareness.
