FW15 Relaxed Hand-Painted Jeans in Light Washed Denim

Gucci Fall/Winter 2015 was Alessandro Michele's debut collection, famously created in just five days after Frida Giannini's sudden departure from the house. The collection reimagined masculinity through an androgynous lens with men wearing silk blouses, lace shirts, and patterned chiffon tied in soft pussy bows paired with deep red pajama cut suits. Michele's now iconic fur lined loafers became the collection's signature: soft black leather mules with traditional gold horse bit ornaments at the front and open backs lined with kangaroo fur that spilled out dramatically. Men carried Gucci handbags and wore wallpaper floral print suits alongside zigzagging striped overcoats in bright pink and maroon, marking a bold rejection of the brand's previous sleek, sexy aesthetic under Tom Ford and Giannini.

Though the collection seemed relatively restrained compared to Michele's later maximalist shows, his signature was unmistakable with early themes of naivety, romanticism, and intellectualism establishing the geek chic, gender fluid vision that would define his nearly eight year tenure and transform Gucci into a cultural phenomenon.