Gucci’s Cruise 2019 show took place in France overnight, at the UNESCO World Heritage listed Promenade des Alyscamps, an ancient Roman necropolis.
Akin to a high fashion horror film, the runway was lined with cathedral candles and smoke filled the air as guests – including Saoirse Ronan and A$AP Rocky – took their seats amidst the darkness.
Just as the show was set to commence, the runway burst into flames, before models appeared, trance-like, to the sounds of Claudio Monteverdi’s ‘Vespers for the Blessed Virgin’, WWD reports.
Not unlike this year’s Met Gala theme, Gucci creative director Alessandro Michele took the church and ancient religious relics as his inspiration.
“It’s the idea of death as fascination,” he explained ahead of the show.
Despite his unapologetically morbid perspective, the clothes were as vibrant as ever, albeit embellished with glittering skulls, veils and crucifixes.
One model wore a Gucci take on the ancient death mask, The Cut reports, once used by wealthy Romans to remember their dead.
