Gucci Men's RTW Fall 2012

Romance and decadence were the twin inspirations behind Gucci’s handsome collection that channeled poets, painters and heroes on horseback. Creative director Frida Giannini said that while her mind was on the 19th century, she was careful to mix the flower prints, velvets, jacquards, and tapestrylike weaves in a contemporary way. “I was thinking ‘bohemian grunge,’” she said before the show. Gucci being a multibillion-dollar luxury goods brand, grunge is always going to be a relative term. Giannini’s bohemians were more of the polished variety, striding down the runway in velvet jackets with jacquard flower motifs or trousers with dark botanical prints, roses and irises inspired by shadows in the paintings of Caravaggio. Often, the Gucci men toted carpetbags with distressed leather trim, or briefcases with horn handles. Giannini played with proportions, tossing sweeping overcoats or chunky ribbed knits over skinny trousers and riding boots, part of the military theme that wove its way through. Poet, painter, soldier, lover — Giannini’s collection was generous enough to encompass them all, and then some.