Gucci unveils adidas collab during Milan Fashion Week show

Alessandro Michele has long seen an affinity between Gucci’s stripes and adidas’ stripes — but whenever he tried to experiment, alarm bells went off.

So, he made it official, with an actual collaboration between Gucci and adidas that took centre stage during the preview show for next fall and winter, reported The Associated Press.

Michele said the collaboration was “his longtime hidden desire.”

“Stripes and lines are incredible symbols,” the Gucci creative director said backstage at the brand’s Milan headquarters, where the luxury brand showed for the first time since the pandemic.

The collaboration included men’s suits in track-worthy shades of royal blue and purple with the adidas stripes down the sleeves and trousers and Gucci written under sports brand’s trefoil.

The choices for her were manifold, from a dual-brand corset over an athletic style dress, jogging suits made out of pretty patterned knitwear, paired with heels and not sneakers; or a stunning Victorian-inspired white dress with a full skirt and fully ruffled.

Headgear includes swimming caps with the adidas logo, and double-billed baseball caps allowing each brand to share prime real estate. The trefoil also appeared on big travel bags, and as a print on trousers.

“It is an experiment that can seem easy to some, but it was extremely strong,” Michele aid.

The showroom was outfitted with mirrors, which the creative director said was meant to reflect the multiplicity of fashion, how a single garment can be many things depending on how it is worn, and even changing as it ages, gets more lived in.

Suits were the centrepiece of the wider collection, which he used to underline the interplay between genders, opening the show with a woman wearing an oversized double-breasted pantsuit.

Michele said that sense of gender fluidity, which made a sensation when he took over as Gucci’s creative director seven years ago, came naturally to him. “I am always walking between the genders,” he said.

VIP guests included Rihanna, her boyfriend A$AP Rocky and Stan Smith, known for the namesake adidas tennis shoe. - AP