Every Weird and Wonderful Thing About Gucci's Fall Show

Welcome to Runway Matters, where we're delivering notes straight from the runway so you can quickly digest the most important trends and noteworthy moments from the F/W 18 shows.

Gucci's show always manages to wind us into an elaborate whirlwind of fantasy and imagination. This season, though, Alessandro Michele truly outdid himself, creating not simply a fashion show but something closer to the set of a sci-fi movie—Harry Potter, some would say.

Live reptiles, fake replicated heads, and oddly specific cultural references are all to be found in this show that we can only deem bizarre. Titled "Cyborg," the fall collection claims to deal with issues of identity and illusion, themes we see emerge in ways both literal (replicated heads and third eyes) and figurative (sheer garment bags).

Forget an It bag. Grab a reptile instead.

In a bizarre twist of events, it wasn't a glamorous "need it now" handbag or even a puppy that models toted down the runway. An iguana, a snake, and, yes, a baby dragon all made debuts, perched oh so casually in the hands of expressionless models.

gucci-runway-fall-winter-2018-250046-1519695288066-image

(Image credit: Gucci)

gucci-runway-fall-winter-2018-250046-1519695281643-image

(Image credit: Gucci)

Identity Play

If you can get past the gruesome reference to a campy horror film, you'll appreciate the sheer imagination of near-identical heads so realistic they could make a person's skin crawl. It's hard to ignore the identity metaphor embedded in second head or a painted-on third eye.

gucci-runway-fall-winter-2018-250046-1519696122834-image

(Image credit: Gucci)

gucci-runway-fall-winter-2018-250046-1519695298895-image

(Image credit: Gucci)

Dazzling Diamonds… and a Bit of Kitsch

We're pretty sure if you looked up the term "maximalist," you'd find Alessandro Michele himself in the dictionary description. Shimmering, diamond-encrusted constructions decorated the heads and bodies of Gucci's models, demanding attention at once. And it wouldn't truly be the Gucci we know and love if there weren't any absurdly kitschy elements, i.e., sheer garment bags.

gucci-runway-fall-winter-2018-250046-1519695293066-image

(Image credit: Gucci)

gucci-runway-fall-winter-2018-250046-1519695295965-image

(Image credit: Gucci)

Just when we thought Gucci couldn't push the button on its imaginative designs, the team brings us this otherworldy fall collection.

Explore More:
Senior Editor

Anna is an editor on the fashion team at Who What Wear and has been at the company for over five years, having begun her career in the Los Angeles office before relocating to New York, where she's currently based. Having always been passionate about pursuing a career in fashion, she built up her experience interning at the likes of Michael Kors, A.L.C., and College Fashionista before joining the team as a post-graduate assistant editor. Anna has penned a number of interviews with Who What Wear's cover stars over the years, including A-listers Megan Fox, Issa Rae, and Emma Chamberlain. She's earned a reputation for scouting new and emerging brands from across the globe and championing them to our audience of millions. While fashion is her main wheelhouse, Anna led the launch of WWW Travels last year, a new lifestyle vertical that highlights all things travel through a fashion-person lens. She is passionate about shopping vintage, whether it be at a favorite local outpost or an on-the-road discovery, and has amassed a wardrobe full of unique finds. When she's not writing, you can find her shooting street imagery on her film camera, attempting to learn a fourth or fifth language, or planning her next trip across the globe.