As states like Alabama and Georgia attempt to strip women of their rights to abortion, Alessandro Michele is looking back to the feminist movement of the Seventies for inspiration. Mirroring the current political climate, the designer advocated for women’s reproductive rights and equality with Gucci’s Cruise 2020 collection.
Staged in Rome at the Capitoline Museums, the fashion house’s latest runway show was all about freedom, self-expression, and gender equality. The concept centered around a very important date in Italian history, May 22, 1978, the day that abortion became legal in the country. Michele paid homage to the historic day by embroidering the date ‘22.5.78’ across a jacket.
Another jacket echoed the same sentiment with the ’70s feminist slogan “My Body, My Choice” emblazoned in bold type across the back.
Opting for a less literal slogan route, a pleated evening gown was embroidered with a beaded and sequin uterus.
“Among other citations, there are some references to the Seventies, a moment in time when boundaries were blurred compared with nowadays,” Michele explained of Gucci’s latest collection in an interview with WWD. “It was a historical moment when women — finally — rejected all the constraints that were imposed in the previous centuries and they became free. That’s why I am paying homage to the Italian law regarding abortion, the law number 194. It’s unbelievable that around the world there are still people who believe that they can control a woman’s body, a woman’s choice. I will always stand behind the freedom of being, always.”
All of the pieces coincide with Gucci’s Chime for Change campaign, a non-profit organization advocating for gender equality and women’s reproductive rights around the world. Since its inception in 2013, the mission has raised $15 million to support projects in 89 countries—directly benefitting over 570,000 girls and women globally.
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