Gucci Epilogue: Ken Scott
Gucci announces the launch of a selection of special pieces in its Epilogue collection incorporating the work of American fashion designer Ken Scott, who resided in Milan in the 60s and 70s, where he created his colourful patterned fabrics and line.
Given the name ‘the gardener of fashion’ he favoured large scale flowers in his creations including peonies, roses, poppies and sunflowers. Designs from Scott’s rich archive appear on Epilogue’s clothing and accessories for men and women. Colour and floral patterns define the looks. The prints turn up unexpectedly on fleeces, on down jackets, evening gowns, as well as silk accessories including headbands and printed on bags.
“Ken Scott was a really great creator of fabrics,” Gucci Creative Director Alessandro Michele says, “he mapped out flowers with romanticism and flowers into pop culture. He treated flowers like shop signs, he multiplied them, turned them into something that stood out. I like his work because I am obsessed with floral prints.”
Launching on February 18th and set in a decorated room filled with different patterns and floral arrangements, a dedicated campaign, conceived by Alessandro Michele and shot by photographer Mark Peckmezian, highlights this range of pieces. The Ken Scott patterns were taken from the products to create and customize the wallpaper, curtains, tablecloths and cushions, transforming the atmosphere in an overwhelming world of intense colours and clashing prints.
To celebrate the launch of the Ken Scott pieces, the Gucci Podcast will launch a special episode featuring writer, academic, critic and Professor of Fashion Cultures and Histories at London College of Fashion at the University of the Arts London Shahidha Bari who narrates a story about the American designer’s life, his work and his legacy in contemporary fashion.
Womenswear items featuring decorative motifs from Scott’s archive include a coat, T-shirts, sweatshirts, underwear, a top, pants, skirts, two blazers, shirts and a number of flowing dresses. All are bright, colourful and impactful, with an exuberant spirit. Menswear comprises a coat, Palace jacket, suit (split into separates), down-padded outerwear, bowling sets and tracksuit sets.
The Gucci Ken Scott collaboration is also applied to shoes. For men, the look is sporty and casual; a black cotton base fabric has been printed with contrasting gold lettering – the initials KS and GG – mixed with gold and silver flowers. This material also features for the Gucci Tennis 1977 in lace-up and slip-on models, and the Pursuit slide. The lace-up Tennis shoe also features the green-red-green House Web stripe. Then for another version of the Pursuit, and a Screener sneaker, a bright Ken Scott floral print called ‘Giardino d’Aprile’, translated as ‘April Garden’displaying a combination of bright flowers, makes a powerful impact. The Screener sneaker has blue heels and a blue-red-blue House Web stripe, while the floral Pursuit slide features a large blue interlocking GG on each shoe.
For women’s shoes and boots there are four different Ken Scott prints (‘Giardino d’Aprile’, ’Zia’, ‘Jenni’ and ‘Pomponica’), all featuring bright combinations of flowers in different colours, and all detailed with micro Ken Scott and Gucci script logos. These have been applied to a fabric base to create the materials for a number of footwear styles: sneakers (Rhyton, Ace and Screener), slides, loafers (Princetown and Jordaan), flats and high boots.
Ken Scott’s vibrant floral prints with their ‘70s vibe have also been used for silk and soft accessories and applied to a variety of pieces with different functions: silk carrés have been developed in different sizes, from small (70×70 cm), to classic (90×90 cm), to maxi (140×140 cm), in order to maximise the visibility of Scott’s prints. Furthermore, the offer is completed by colourful ribbons, cosy and refined shawls and stoles, headbands in lamé or cotton and characterful baseball caps and bucket hats. Today Ken Scott is a brand of Mantero, the renowned textile company, and designs from Scott’s rich archive are preserved by the Ken Scott Foundation, now based in Como.
CAMPAIGN CREDITS:
Creative Director: Alessandro Michele
Art Director: Christopher Simmonds
Photographer & Director: Mark Peckmezian
Hair Stylist: Alex Brownsell
Make Up: Thomas De Kluyver
