The Reverend Peter Owen-Jones, priest and author, told this paper last weekend that renting out Westminster Cloisters to Gucci was akin to the church “selling our soul for a pair of trousers”.
As spiked kitten heels and silver buckled Bovver boots clattered across Medieval paving stones (was that really the grave of Baron Mackenzie, High Bailiff of Westminster beneath?) and an actress-slash-socialite artfully draped herself across one of the archways for the benefit of some paparazzi before settling onto one of the stone ledges to watch the show, one could imagine the Reverend’s palpitations reaching fever pitch.
Why Gucci's Alessandro Michele wanted Westminster Abbey
But Gucci’s Creative Director, Alessandro Michele always had the purest of intentions. Back in February, when the venue was first announced, Michele, who lived in London for several years, told me, “London is always on my mind and in my memories. I’m obsessed with British culture, past and present. To be able to show the collection inside the Cloisters in Westminster Abbey is magical.”
So no throbbing rap. Instead music of an ecclesiastical bent. The clothes though, were mighty loud, which suited the magnificent austerity of the Cloisters. Michele, described them as “a love letter to England” – a breathy bear hug might be more accurate. There was a torrent of tartan too, so really, it was British, but, in a way that could only be 100 per cent Italian: ie lavishly, unashamedly, luxurious.
Clothes that were an homage to the Queen
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That meant rain-hats made from silk brocades, beige trench-coats with sequined tiger heads across the backs, bomber jackets emblazoned with twin cross-stitched King Charles Cavalier (could they become the new flamingo, an animal that owned 2015?), kilts (more sequins), punky bondage tartan drainpipes, high necked Victorian style dresses in Debs’ pink, frilled suits in Wedgwood blue, boaters…and several Italianate homages to The Queen’s Balmoral attire.
There was even some ermine trim. And more sequins. And Union Jacks, prompting this burning question among style watchers: after it reached ubiquity circa 2007, is the Union Jack jumper about to become fashionable again?
Gucci's sales are steadily rising
It’s about as restrained as Disneyland - but so flamboyantly, brilliantly executed it’s hard not to be charmed. And many clearly are. With Michele at the helm, for the first time in two years, Gucci’s sales are rising.
From a business perspective, these spectacular locations are a way of beefing up the so-called Cruise collections (twice yearly adjuncts to the main ready to wear lines, albeit ones that increasingly account for the biggest slab of clothing revenue). Virgin territory, where no other brand has previously shown, creates a sense of exclusivity in a market crowded with luxury fashion labels.
When this collection becomes available to buy in November, it will be as a limited edition, Gucci-London range. And it will sell: the clothes may not be for the faint hearted, but Michele has a genius for accessories. Queen Bags and sparkly kitten heels, red satin backless loafers and fat-soled Dr Marten style boots, crossed with a dash of Beefeater and pimped with heavy silver buckles, proved that there’s plenty of mileage in the Gucci juggernaut. Let us hope the Church of England got a very expensive pair of trousers out of their transaction.
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