![Putting the fun and fabulousness back into fashion: Mr Porter X Gucci is a limited-edition collection inspired by ...](/content/dam/images/g/v/y/s/f/q/image.related.afrWideArticleLead.940x529.gvypyv.png/1494294235344.jpg)
If you're a follower of high fashion, you'd have to have been living under the proverbial rock lately not to know that Gucci under new(ish) creative director Alessandro Michele is currently the hottest luxury label in the world.
"But why?" I hear the non-followers of high fashion ask; you people who have priorities in life other than attending the international shows for a living. Let's just say that if Michele was living under a rock it would be a gloriously eclectic baroque bunker of pop colours, sparkle and flowers, filled with lions, tigers, peacocks and flamingos stalking about to a soundtrack of Beyonce.
In short, Michele and his favourite motifs have put the fun and fabulousness back into fashion, giving a much-needed and much-welcomed shake-up to a world that all too often takes itself too seriously.
"The Gucci world under Alessandro is eccentric, super bright and all-encompassing," says Mr Porter buyer Sam Lobban. "Gucci has been one of the major players in bringing vintage and retro back to the fore of fashion; the graphic element and colours are so strong that you can't fail to be impressed with how all-encompassing the creative direction is."
![Putting the fun and fabulousness back into fashion: Mr Porter X Gucci is a limited-edition collection inspired by ...](/content/dam/images/g/v/y/s/8/q/image.imgtype.afrArticleInline.620x0.png/1493880662906.jpg)
Mr Porter is so impressed with Gucci under Michele, appointed to the role in 2015, that the British luxury menswear retailer asked the Italian heritage brand if it they could work together on an exclusive capsule collection. The answer was yes.
"It was a big Mr Porter/Gucci love-in," laughs Lobban of the collaboration.
The result is a 43-piece collection inspired by urbanism and self-expression, anchored by classic tailoring silhouettes and the eccentric sportswear Michele is renowned for. Debuting on Mr Porter on May 18, the range spans clothing, shoes and accessories, with Gucci motifs such as the bee and the tiger predominant throughout, and rich textures and fabrications in a vivid palette of zesty oranges and yellows, azure blues and deep reds.
Standout pieces include a wool jacquard bee crew-neck sweater, a blueberry jersey zipped jacket with a paisley print and an embroidered tiger, and a pair of horse-bit loafers in a GG mimosa wallpaper print – though there are plenty of more understated tailored jackets, trousers and denim jeans to choose from.
You might think Gucci's Italian romanticism would be odds with Mr Porter's traditional English-tailoring roots, but the Mr Porter x Gucci collection is a wonderfully eccentric union that works. And herein lies the power of the capsule collaboration: to bridge a gap between two brands and generate new customers for both.
![Mr Porter X Gucci: The aim of a capsule collection is to bridge a gap between two brands and generate new customers for both.](/content/dam/images/g/v/y/s/f/v/image.imgtype.afrArticleInline.620x0.png/1493880642908.jpg)
Limited-edition capsule collections also provide a burst of exclusivity and excitement for retailers; that is, they get the cash registers ringing. When done well, the capsule collection is the fashion version of gestalt: the sum is greater than the parts, and it's a wonderful outcome for all concerned.
"Capsule collections give us something exclusive as a retailer that no one else has," says Lobban. "They are also about identifying gaps in our product mix and thinking what would be cool to offer our customers?"
Among other brands Mr Porter has worked with to create capsule collections are Cos, Bar Celona, Lanvin and Levis. In the case of Gucci, Lobban looked beyond the buzz about Michele's fresh take on sportswear all the way back to fashion house's rich heritage of tailoring.
Tailoring heritage
![Collaboration: The Mr Porter x Gucci collection is a wonderfully eccentric union that works.](/content/dam/images/g/v/y/s/8/t/image.imgtype.afrArticleInline.620x0.png/1493880648473.jpg)
"With capsule collections we always try to have a balance between the brand's core identity but also to put a Mr Porter spin on it and think of our unique selling point," says Lobban. "With a brand like Gucci, it made sense to look to the tailoring heritage, because tailoring is a very Mr Porter element as well."
The range has been cleverly calibrated to appeal to sartorial classicists and mavericks alike, which should broaden the customer base of both brands.
"Part of the greatness of the new Gucci direction is how strong it is, but we were conscious that some customers might say: 'Oh, that's really cool, but that's not for me'," says Lobban. "So we've ensured there are other elements to it too. Fashion guys will be into it, but if you are a more laid-back guy who is just into really well-made clothes, there is product in there you can wear."
Capsule collections were originally popularised by Donna Karan in the 1980s. The idea was to create a capsule wardrobe that featured only the most essential or influential pieces from a collection. Today capsule collections are often collaborations between a designer and a retailer and essentially offer a condensed, often limited-edition version of a designer's vision that transcends seasons and trends by being functional (read "commercial").
![Alessandro Michele acknowledges audience applause after the Gucci show at Men's Fashion Week in Milan in 2015.](/content/dam/images/g/v/y/s/6/x/image.imgtype.afrArticleInline.620x0.png/1493880127940.jpg)
Capsule collaborations are most common at the high-street end of the market – think Stella McCartney and Target, Valentino and Gap, Marni and Lanvin for H&M; and Jil Sander for Uniqlo.
But retailers at the top end of town are now embracing the them as a savvy sales and marketing tool.
"The success of launching a capsule collection comes with the creative opportunity it offers to tap into a timely event or current consumer interest, without being too invasive of the brand's ethos as a whole," says Chris Sanderson, co-founder of the London-based trend forecasters The Future Laboratory. "They offer a great opportunity for brands not just to reach new audiences but to make a lot of marketing noise in the process."
Lane Crawford has featured capsule collections from the likes of Manolo Blahnik, Isabel Marant and Australia's Kym Ellery, while Matchesfashion.com has upcoming collaborations with luxury swimwear brands Lisa Marie Fernandez, Marysia Swim and Solid and Striped following a capsule collection and "garage sale" event with Vetements in Seoul.
![From Mr Porter's capsule collection with Cos.](/content/dam/images/g/v/y/s/8/j/image.imgtype.afrArticleInline.620x0.png/1493946723701.jpg)
"We received a phenomenal response, with customers queuing for 17 hours ahead of opening the doors, and we had sellout success on products," says Matchesfashion.com buying director Natalie Kingham.
German luxury etailer Stylebop.com is collaborating with Moncler this season following a collaboration with luxury footwear label Malone Souliers and womenswear designer Roksanda that was so successful a second round will be on the site soon.
"Capsule collections have evolved from being seen as a promotional stunt into something extremely desirable, not to mention something filling those calmer periods between seasonal deliveries," says Stylebop.com head of womenswear Coco Chan.
While mass-market retailers also continue to mine the trend, Chan believes high-end capsule collections are the epitome of true luxury.
"Even when a mass-market capsule collection is pitched as being 'limited', the depth and breadth of the product is still on a very large scale," she says. "Whereas a luxury capsule collection reinforces the sense of luxury through the sheer scarcity of the product.
"In many ways this is the essence of luxury – discovering that hard-to-find item you are not going to see everywhere else."
![From Mr Porter's capsule collaboration with Bar Celona.](/content/dam/images/g/v/y/s/8/w/image.imgtype.afrArticleInline.620x0.png/1493946626211.jpg)
![The Malone Souliers/Roksanda collaboration for STYLEBOP.com was so successful a second round will be available soon.](/content/dam/images/g/v/z/1/9/z/image.imgtype.afrArticleInline.620x0.png/1493946586371.jpg)
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