Instead of its usual spot on day 1 of Milan Fashion Week, Gucci‘s Creative Director Alessandro Michele transported the House to the French capital, for one time, and one show only (Gucci usually has 2 shows, one after the other, to accommodate everyone). The Spring/Summer 19 collection was shown at the Théâtre Le Palace, which was once a nightclub and popular stomping ground in the 70s and 80s, that gave rise to a burgeoning subculture back in its heyday.

It was this spirit of the 1970s and 1980s that Michele certainly worked into the collection, as we saw Michele’s model geeks in bell-bottomed trousers (especially the men), nipped torso suits, and extravagant shoulder padded dresses. With all that glitter, lurex, and fringing, it certainly exuded that hedonistic Studio 54 and ABBA vibe. In fact, almost every look came look with at least some sparkle. But, despite all that rockstar glitz and glam, Michele also got a little sexually suggestive, especially with the Y-fronts, low-cut leotards, and jockstraps on the men.

Oh, and every Michele show comes with some eccentricity, and this SS19 one, was no exception – we saw a white cockatoos (the real birds and not taxidermied ones unlike his previous collections), Dolly Parton printed on the back of a denim jacket as well as on tracksuits, a toile de jouy dress on a male model, and oh, of course, the three-dimensional Mickey Mouse head bags. Oh, and not forgetting the biggest surprise of them all – when Jane Birkin (yep the lady whom an Hermès bag was named after) stood up and sang her 1983 single Baby Alone in Babylone in the middle of the show. Well, it is after all an old theatre, and Michele certainly delivered in terms of theatrics, to say the least.

Images via Vogue Runway