SuperCaliFashionistic

You may be well aware by now that I'm an avid fan of Mert and Marcus, but this campaign wasn't up to their usual caliber. Not that anything was obviously missing - the colors blended well, the retouching was perfect (as always), but it lacked the punch that their previous masterpieces possessed. Perhaps there were too many elements for complete coherency, or perhaps the clothes simply weren't as photogenic as they were last year. Either way, there was something indefinably but very tangibly missing. So while this series is far from an eyesore (that crown would have to be given to the Juergen Teller campaigns), I won't be hunting down every last image to preserve for posterity.

When it comes to menswear, it's hard to beat Gucci. These days, mens' runway has turned into some type of carnival, with outlandish embellishment, clownish makeup, and a confusion of clashing colors. Frida Giannini sets herself apart by the simple virtue of designing clothes that men can wear (well, most of them at least) - oh, and with heaps of talent too. Gucci's trademark fitted trousers unfortunately erred on the side of too baggy-crotched, but Giannini redeemed herself with expertly cut coats, pristinely tailored blazers, and beautifully structured man-purses. Pastels are a perennial subject of difficulty in menswear, but Giannini made whisper pinks and muted purples look just right with steely shades of stormy gray. She lent a light touch to layering, pairing cashmere sweaters with button-down shirts and chunky scarves with unbuttoned anoraks. Juxtaposing textures added interesting complexity, but Giannini kept the look unfussy with pieces in the same color family. Overall, the brand's 90th anniversary yielded another solid showing that was just another testament to Gucci's excellence in menswear.

It's all golden limbs, chiseled cheekbones, and muscled pecs for Gucci. Mert and Marcus work their magic again, and by that I mean they manage to make even the most dubious items look positively glamorous. I mean, a feathered top and harem pants with a crotch at your ankles won't really look good unless you're shot from below with one foot on a table. And a man-necklace with white pants and a tan belt isn't going to work, unless you're Nikola Jovanovic. But the photographers make it look more avant garde than odd (well, not completely). There's also another anomaly in the form of a model who has decided to tan himself while wearing black business pants. There's also some curious photoshopping going on - the model sitting on the glass seems to be missing half of her posterior. Plus, they manage to integrate some interesting things into the background. In one shot, there's the torso of a swimsuit model. In another, everyone's sunning themselves (rather dignifiedly, I might add) in the foreground while she's lowkey posing next to a column in the back. I'm starting to think they just hired an extra model and didn't know what to do with her. Only Gucci could make this work, and they certainly do. In the end, the odd elements don't look odd, they just look "unique." And despite an abundance of miscellaneous elements, it maintains a futuristic clarity, thanks to clean angles, sharp lines, and a curving blue backdrop. What it is, essentially, is a glamorous utopia of 6 foot tall models in designer clothes, and it doesn't get better than that.

Gucci never fails to impress with its campaigns, and this one is no different. From the gleaming cuffs to the glowing tans to the glossy nails, Mert and Marcus perfectly capture the brand's luxurious, sophisticated, modernistic aesthetic. There's nothing "edgy," about it, yet there's something infinitesimally futuristic in the perfectly calculated poses and seamlessly contrasting angles. It's subtly subtly unconventional without being obnoxiously avant garde, classically beautiful without being predictably boring. In other words, it's perfection. It sells not only gorgeous clothes, but gorgeous people and a gorgeous lifestyle - it makes you want to belong to that high-definition world of silk jumpsuits by the poolside and golden tables as footrests (and chiseled, shirtless male models). And if you can't live in Gucciland, at least you can buy their clothes. Artistic value aside, that is the purpose of a good campaign.