Yet another week backlash this week for fashion brand Gucci in an ad featuring Harry Styles…
The campaign (released Nov. 2) shows Styles wears a teddy bear T-shirt. (Teddy bears were also at the center of the Balenciaga ad campaign firestorm…) and in one snippet, carrying a small mattress.
Gucci called the ad a “performance piece” when it was released,
Play is at the very heart of the Gucci HA HA HA collection… its name after all is the onomatopoeic sound of the written essence of the ‘laughing face’ emoji, as well as the serial crasis of the initials of ‘Harry’ and ‘Alessandro.’
Starting from those small oddities that come together in childlike visions, it turns into a ‘dream wardrobe’ reflecting the two creative spirits behind the collection.”
Some social media users jumped on the ad as yet another fashion misstep, including Alexandra Gucci Zarini, whose great-grandfather was the founder of Gucci, who wrote on Instagram,
Why would you create a ‘performance piece’ with a toddler’s mattress and an adult man? My concerns are that there seems to be a common ideology across Kering’s fashion houses.”
Another wrote,
A toddler mattress with a grown man and a teddy bear on his shirt… Symbolism will be their downfall.”
The campaign was conceived by Alessandro Michele, the former creative director who announced in late November that he would be departing his role after seven years.
Maybe I’m missing something, but I don’t see a big issue here. It IS a small mattress, but who says it’s for a “toddler”. And a pink teddy bear on a t-shirt? These objections seem like a stretch, no?
Whadya think?
Watch.
When Harry met Alessandro. #GucciHAHAHA
— gucci (@gucci) November 3, 2022
A new campaign envisioned by #AlessandroMichele
Photography and music by #MarkBorthwick
Art Direction by #ChristopherSimmonds @Harry_Styles #HarryStyles pic.twitter.com/vLfJgCp87h
(Photos, screen grabs; via The Daily Beast)
