Gucci’s Alessandro Michele is a great raconteur. His collections seem to narrate a singular tale with no real beginning or end, calling to mind the Ouroboros, the mythological serpent or dragon eating its own tail. They’re a medley of contrasts, often laced with erudite references. Yet Snoopy, Donald Duck, and a bizarre and ever-growing menagerie of rabbits, tigers, cats, dragons, and, yes, snakes are also part of his vision. It’s a wondrous, seductive fantasy world, and it’s not easy to escape its spell. Every chapter adds some new element to the narrative, eschewing categories, as well as seasonal and gender concerns. For all Michele’s love of history, this is a modern, shrewd approach, one that resonates both creatively and in the business arena. And the designer’s quite prodigious reservoir of ideas shows no sign of exhaustion; in the Pre-Fall lineup, he added layer upon layer to his already vast catalog of imagery. by TIZIANA CARDINI - Vogue.com