At today's Gucci show, recently appointed creative director Alessandro Michele proved that the enthusiastic response he received for his first menswear collection last month wasn't a fluke. We haven't been this worked up over Gucci since the Tom Ford era -- although Michele's style is practically the polar opposite of Ford's exercises in sexed-up high fashion seduction. Michele's vision of Gucci is absolutely modern, chic and free in its fluidity -- men dressing like women, women dressing like men and people whose gender we, frankly, didn't recognize wearing separates that seem to break the stereotypical rules of apparel. The first look -- a sheer top over a below-the-knee skirt was sexy and dowdy simultaneously. The second look was one of our favorites: a green leather man-cut pants suit paired with brown suede shoes with Gucci's signature gold equestrian bit and a serious lady's handbag with chain strap. And let's not forget the wild toupee shoe which was cruelty-free in a season that has seen far too much fur.
Model Molly Blair, one of the runway standouts of the season, perhaps best embodies this new Gucci identity: She's part tomboy, part glamazon, confident and sinewy. But it was the final look that was the exclamation point on the show -- the trouser equivalent of the boyfriend jean in candy-apple red paired with a ruffled blouse that brought to mind classic Saint Laurent in aubergine, accessorized with bold rings and a new take on the classic Gucci logo belt. The new Gucci woman means business.