London – Alessandro Michele has had the fashion industry enamoured since
the moment he unveiled his new vision for Italian fashion house Gucci, as
fans around the world clamoured to get a one of his designs.
In a very much ‘see-now, buy-now’ fashion, online luxury retailer
Net-a-Porter.com has teamed up with Michele to develop a limited edition,
one-off capsule collection of ready-to-wear piece, footwear and
accessories. The collection, which will be be sold exclusively on
Net-a-Porter.com, is the first exclusive range that Michele has developed
since being named creative director at Gucci.
Set to launch May 12, the collection will offer exclusive prints created by
Michele as well as re-imagined pieces from Gucci’s collection, according to
WWD. The capsule collection is also part of Net-a-Porter’s ongoing strategy
to shine the spotlight on the industry key creatives and offer them a place
of honour on their platform.
As one of Net-a-Porter.com best selling brands, a collaboration with
Michele seemed to be a logical move. “We backed [Michele’s] first
collection significantly. It was an absolute departure,” said Alison
Loehnis, president of Net-a-Porter.com to WWD. “Since then, the take-up
from customers has been really incredible around all categories. We are
selling loafers, but we are selling tons of rtw and fine bags, so this is
really an across-category initiative.”
In addition, the capsule collection is also “an opportunity to address in a
bespoke way what customers are looking for from a product standpoint,”
added Loehnis. “For the Gucci devotee this is a wonderful way to get
further into the brand. But it is also a really terrific way to introduce a
brand to a customer that hasn’t bought it before.”
Prices for the collection are set to range from 270 US dollars for a print
iPhone 6 case to 5,300 US dollars for a appliquéd silk-blend organza gown.
The collection will be featured under its own label on Net-a-Porter.com, as
Gucci aims to “break the rules and take risks,” according to Marco
Bizzarri, president and chief executive officer of Gucci. “This is very
much the new spirit of Gucci, and we are glad that Net-a-porter shares our
vision.”
Photos: Courtesy of Gucci Facebook. Featuring Alessandro Michele, actress
Dakota Johnson and singer/Gucci ambassador Florence Welch in Gucci at the
Met Gala Ball, 2016.