Monday 17 March 2008

The Material Boy #40




Gucci Green Leather Duffle

Many people thought Frida Giannini's designs for Gucci were unimaginative and predictable, drawing references from the past eras all the time. There were no freshness in her collections. But I have to say, she does produce some of the best looking and wearable collections to date. Especially for menswear. I love her runway designs (not the basic stuff with huge Gucci logos or monogram bags!). She may not be revolutionary in her designs, but hey, think about it, not everyone is born with a supermodel figure or face to carry off runway looks. We do need practical wearable clothing for real people. So Gucci equates looks for real guys:-)

For spring summer 2008, she came up with a series of nonchalant, biker style looks, inspired by Steve Mcqueen and other lookalikes. I love the skinny checkered pants with ankle straps, skinny neon coloured jeans and the studded polo tee. However, Gucci Singapore is not bold enough to bring in the more unique runway pieces. All the pieces I like, especially the pants were not available. I will most likely have to go to Hong Kong in June to try my luck.

This green leather duffle is a good example of an item most unlikely to reach Singapore shores. The neon green colour(the 'trend' colour which I have been seeing all over the place for the season) is loud and bold, which most Gucci customers in Singapore will frown upon. But for me, I thought it looked fabulous! See how it adds a splash of 'attitude' on the runway model.(BTW, he has the checkered pants I want! If anyone spot that, let me know where)

Made of soft calf leather, with a Gucci web striped detail. A detachable soft shoulder strap and double handles allow for shoulder or hand carry. Comes in a variety of colour and materials - black leather with red web stripe(Euro $1390) or metal grommet(Euro $1795) detail and checkered fabric(Euro $895 or SGD $2000 in Gucci Paragon, Singapore ).

Update:
This bag is in the Gucci Paragon Store now! The green is neon green, very lovely. Leather is soft and light. Much nicer than in the pics:-)

Retail price: Euro $1290 or SGD $2940. Where to buy: Gucci Boutique at Paragon

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Never been a fan of Gucci. But this looks like it is going to make my head (and opinion) turn around. The black one looks delicious. Do you think you can find a close-up of that bag? The pants featured are delectable too.

Kevin @ myMANybags said...

Hi jay,

happy monday! thank goodness it's over and 3 days left to long weekend.

You can find the close up image over at www.gucci.com. Choose Belgium as the country. There you will be able to view the full range.

I adore the gucci collection ever since the spring 07 where Frida Giannini started to hold the reins. Never really liked Tom Ford. Too bad, the gucci buyers here are not adventurous. It seems they dun bring in the more adventurous runway pieces.

The gucci boutique has a black version but not in leather but in some plastic material. It's so cheap looking! I wonder why they dun bring in the actual black leather version.

I love the pants! the full SS_08, Gucci collection can be viewed at www.gqstyle.com.

Anonymous said...

I agree, the spring Gucci, and what I have seen from the coming fall, is really excellent. It is wearable. If there are references to times past, I have no problem with that, personally I feel a lot for retro things right now, like the 70'ies. All the avantgarde-deconstruction-whatever things that some designers are doing can be a bit tiring. I want to be able to wear my clothes.

Kevin @ myMANybags said...

Exactly, what works for runway is to make a statement and impression on the buyers and press. What people do buy are wearable items. An article I read recently from a local magazine quoted that you never seen a normal girl dress in balenciaga, but theydo buy gucci. I guess, each has their own following. Fashion is subjective.:-) That is what makes this business so interesting.:-) I wear a mixture of wearable and a few odd pieces now and then. But I prefer to not push it over my limit. Dress to hide my flaws, not to make it worse:-P