Gucci's New Collection Comes With a Mask For Every Occasion, and We're Over Here Scratching Our Heads

Alessandro Michele dreamed up a Fall 2019 lineup where everyone is wearing masks. No, really. The designer's runway was another exercise in theatrical dressing that put the emphasis on accessorizing like it's an extreme sport. One model wore a golden eagle as a headpiece, another a spiked mask, more in visors and eye masks, and some with gilded ear pieces. Maybe on the heels of Gucci's blackface sweater scandal, Alessandro was desperately evading, giving us fashion fantasy with a parade of costumes for characters, not clothes for everyday people. That certainly has been his MO — a designer with a flair for dramatics, transforming streetwear and its trappings into statement pieces.

That said, if you unmask the models, the caricatures fade — no more David Bowie impersonators, court jesters, or Game of Thrones fanfare — making it easier to digest the collection à la carte, parsing out separates. The sneakers, for instance, will be covetable items on their own, as will the tweedy jackets, cardigans, suiting, and more delicate dresses finished with pretty embellishments and Alessandro's technicolor palette. There's also an expertly done knit mini that begs the question — have sweater dresses always been so sexy?

In presentation, the runway veers toward showmanship and art that we may or may not always understand or crave in our closets. That said, in a few months' time, these singular pieces will likely be the extras that set trendsetters and red carpet looks in a league of their own.