Runway

How a Few of Alessandro Michele’s Best Gucci Looks Measure Up to Renaissance Art

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Photo: Indigital.tv; Portrait of Leo X 1475-1521, Raphael/ Photo: Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence, Italy / Bridgeman Images
Gucci Men Fall 2016 Meets Portrait of Pope Leo X with Two Cardinals Way before The Young Pope made cardinal red hip, there was this Michele caped ensemble, whose vivid red recalls the robes worn by the religious dignitaries flanking Pope Leo X in Raphael’s painting dated circa 1517.

Come Monday night, Gucci will launch its takeover of Florence, showing its 2018 Resort collection at the Palazzo Pitti. As part of the experience, the brand, helmed by Alessandro Michele, is hosting a tour of the Uffizi Gallery beforehand, which is home to some of Renaissance art’s most incredible masterpieces—Michelangelo, Botticelli, Raphael, et al. Yet hang on a minute; a cursory look at some of the art world treasures contained in the museum will ring familiar if you’ve been paying attention to Michele’s collections since he took the reins in 2015. Above, you'll find a quick tour of where the gallery and the runway come together, and a neat reminder that when it comes to allegory, symbolism, and ornamentalism, Michele is pretty much the definition of a Renaissance man himself.