Elton John is the muse for Gucci's latest maximalist mille-feuille collection

Gucci and Elton John- was there ever a more compatible combination? Actually, in its current incarnation under creative director Alessandro Michele, the luxury fashion super-brand is such a layered, maximalist mille-feuille of ideas and embellishment it makes Sir Elton, even the Bob Mackie designed-plumage of his early days, look slightly reined-in.

The two have become friends since Michele took the Gucci tiller two and a half years ago, culminating in a trip for Michele around Sir Elton’s archives. The results could be seen on Gucci’s spring/summer catwalk this afternoon, which shimmered with swaggering, gold embroidered capes and starred several sequinned jackets with extravagantly large shoulders and the initials EHJ across the back. The H stands for Hercules. If you’re going to change your name, make it a memorable one.

1970s glam rock is clearly a  fruitful mine, but sprinkled between were allusions to neo-classical sculpture, magical spells, the Mitfords and the architectural musings of an eighteenth century monk. Chinese embroidery on skirt suits, knitted dresses with beaded seams, patchwork suede jackets, Prince of Wales check blazers… it’s possible to find anything you want here. Therein lies Gucci’s current success. From trainer to spiky talon, you can feel like an individual while buying into the security of a global status symbol.

Wearing an idiosyncratic version of a sports jacket, which later appeared on one of the models on the catwalk – striped, webbed cuffs, sequinned front and a fan-tail of purple gemstones across the shoulders - and sitting on an antique sofa upholstered with shredded silk, Michele took time out  before the show to reflect on the phenomenal upward trajectory of the label under his stewardship.

In July 2017, Gucci announced record growth in revenue and profits in the first half 2017 - revenues of +43% (2.8 billion euro) and profits of +69% (900 million). At this rate it’s on track to be a 7 billion euros a year label – an achievement all the more noteworthy because Michele’s influences – Heidegger, Camus, inter alia – are so abstruse.  “Maybe it’s to do with authenticity and because I’ve tried to use fashion not just as clothes but as a bridge to different tribes,” he says.

The idea of a community based around a love of Gucci logos might seem trite. But the sense of clan that comes from a shared appreciation of specific brands can be a genuine bond – witness the Morris Minor or Marmite brigade Marmite’s not a bad analogy: Michele’s glittering reinvention of Gucci is not to everyone’s liking. “There are some who think I’m trying to destroy all of fashion’s traditions," he acknowledges. “All I’m doing is questioning the way it does things. Sometimes it seems like an industry that wants to change with the times, but can’t quite stop thinking in a way that hasn’t really changed since Dior’s New Look”

Meet the stars who love Gucci