Gucci is Collaborating with 'Good Will Hunting' Director Gus Van Sant
Gucci has a new project in the works. After posting a polaroid picture of Creative Director Alessandro Michele and filmmaker Gus Van Sant to Instagram, the Italian fashion house has confirms an upcoming collaboration. Gucci also shared a series of watercolor sketches by Van Sant, all with the hashtag #GucciOuverture.
Though the exact nature of the #GucciOuverture collaboration has yet to be revealed, it is likely that Michele and Van Sant will release a film. Since the coronavirus pandemic began earlier this year, fashion films have become increasingly popular, and at this point might just be an industry standard.
Van Sant himself has yet to direct an official fashion film per se, but is well suited for such an open creative project. His work in both the independent and mainstream circuits have established him as one of the era’s most powerful directors and a key figure in the New Queer Cinema movement. Van Sant’s Milk and Good Will Hunting earned both Best Picture and Best Director nominations at the Academy Awards, and his 2003 drama Elephant won the Cannes Film Festival's Palme d’Or. He is also currently slated to direct the film My Son, the Prince of Fashion, an adaptation of a father’s 2016 reflection published in GQ about taking his son to men’s fashion week.
Plus, #GucciOuverture is not Gucci's only current foray into film. On October 27, the brand announced Absolute Beginners, an upcoming series of nine fashion films made by first time directors and friends of the brand. Created in partnership with Dazed Media, the film series centers the Gucci Jackie 1961 bag in each film. Directors include Elle Fanning, Jodie Turner-Smith, and Emma Corrin.
Ever since Michele’s May decision to rename collections and present fewer shows, the brand seems to be taking a new course. Gucci skipped this month's Milan Fashion Week, instead sharing a collection in July, dubbed Epilogue and modeled by Michele’s staff.
Gucci has relied increasingly on unique digital campaigns. Earlier in the summer, the brand relaunched its Equilibrium platform, an Instagram account and website that show the brand’s increasing commitment to sustainable and ethical production. The brand has been carbon neutral since 2019.
Though Michele himself has yet to publicly comment on his work with Van Sant, the photograph of the two implies an exciting upcoming artistic collaboration.