London’s Westminster Abbey will be given a fashionable makeover this summer
as it is set to host its début catwalk show for Italian fashion house Gucci.
Set to take place June 2, Gucci will present it’s Cruise collection in the
abbey’s cloisters, a decision which the label’s acclaimed creative director
Alessandro Michele has described to be ‘magical.’ “Creative director
Alessandro Michele has chosen one of London’s most historic and beautiful
settings for his cruise 2017 fashion show: the Cloisters at Westminster
Abbey,” said the fashion house in a statement on Wednesday. “Gucci will be
the first fashion house to host a runway show in this historic location.”
However, not everyone seems to be Michele’s decision that the location is a
‘magical’ site for the show, despite the fact that the abbey’s cloisters
have been available to hire for corporate events for a while. “I think it’s
part of the Disneyfication of all the traditional sacred spaces in this
land,” said the Reverend Peter Owen-Jones to The Independent. “It confuses
what the Church is for. Is the central icon of Christianity there to offer
spiritual sustenance and love or is it just part of the marketplace of
capitalism,” added the priest.
@Gucci’s next Cruise will be in
The Cloisters of Westminster Abbey. Anyone else think the context is a
little weird for a clothes show?— Vanessa Friedman (@VVFriedman)
February
3, 2016
Fashion critic and fashion director for the New York Times, Vanessa
Friedman also questioned Gucci’s decision to stage its show in the abbey,
tweeting: “Gucci’s next Cruise will be in The Cloisters of Westminster
Abbey. Anyone else think the context is a little weird for a clothes show?”