Michigan Avenue - Niche Media - Michigan Avenue magazine is a luxury lifestyle magazine centered around Chicago’s finest people, events, fashion, health & beauty, fine dining & more!
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/753330
100 MICHIGANAVEMAG.COM PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF GUCCI JUST DO IT! CHANNEL YOUR INNER FASHION DESIGNER WITH GUCCI'S NEW DIY COLLECTION. BY KARI MOLVAR Since taking the reins at the Florentine fashion house two years ago, Gucci creative director Alessandro Michele, has been upend- ing expectations on the runway. The 44-year-old designer's wonderfully divergent world revolves around the intersection of high fashion and street culture, which he seamlessly integrates into glamorous, of-the-moment pieces that often turn up on It girls and become Insta-obsessions (case in point: His Princetown slippers, which launched last February, still command a wait list). Michele's latest disruptive move is to launch a DIY— that's right, do it yourself— collection that allows the wearer to put a personal spin on many of Gucci's most cherished pieces, from the iconic Dionysus bag to a range of menswear and statement shoes. Tailored suits can be detailed with bright patterns rendered in silk foulard on jacket linings and waistbands, while the brand's unisex Ace white- leather sneakers, known for their red-and-green stripe, can be customized with embroidered initials. Symbols from the Gucci Garden (think flowers, snakes, bees) and mono- grams can also be added to shirts and knitwear. The real standouts are hand-painted leather biker jackets fashioned with studs, and reversible silk bombers that can be decorated with patches and letters. Even those coveted Princetown slippers can be accented with a tiger-head patch— just be prepared to claw your way to get a pair. 900 North Michigan Shops, 312-664-5504; gucci.com . GUCCI'S GLAMOROUS, OF-THE-MOMENT PIECES OFTEN TURN UP ON IT GIRLS AND BECOME INSTA-OBSESSIONS. Mad to the max! Few designers do quirky-cool quite as well as Gucci's Alessandro Michele. RIGHT: Gucci DIY custom Dionysus handbags (price on request). ABOVE: Patches and embroidery add a personal spin to silk bombers and biker jackets. STYLE LAUNCH