House of Gucci sends searches for luxury label soaring
Online searches for designer label Gucci have leapt following the release of the feature film, House of Gucci, which premiered last week.
In the movie, directed by Ridley Scott, Lady Gaga stars as Patrizia Reggiani, who hired a hitman to kill her ex-husband and former head of the fashion label, Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver), in 1995.
Fashion commerce aggregator Lovethesales.com reported on Friday that searches for Gucci bags soared by 257 per cent compared to the previous week. Searches for clothing by the label were up 73 per cent and sliders by 75 per cent.
The effect of the film on Gucci’s sales were not unexpected, as WWD reports that Claire Roblet, director of financial communications and market intelligence at Gucci’s parent company Kering, predicted it would have a “halo effect” on the brand.
Although Gucci did not officially endorse House of Gucci, the brand was involved in other ways in the production, such as providing MGM and Scott Free Productions with a limited selection of original items and props from its archives.
The brand also allowed a shopping scene to be filmed at its main store in Via Condotti in Rome. But perhaps most significant was the casting of Salma Hayek as Giuseppina Auriemma, a psychic who becomes Reggiani’s friend and accomplice.
Hayek is married to Francois-Henri Pinault, the chairman and chief executive of Kering. Julie Zerbo, from Fashion Law, told The Guardian that Hayek’s appearance in the movie meant “it was pretty obvious from the outset that Gucci wouldn’t push back”.
Gucci posted stills from the film of Gaga as Reggiani on its social media channels, as well as a photograph of brand ambassador Jared Leto (who plays Paolo Gucci in the film) on the red carpet, dressed in a pink satin three-piece suit from Gucci, during the Los Angeles premiere.
Gaga has also worn a number of outfits designed by Gucci creative director, Alessandro Michele, for the film’s press tour and premieres this month, including a purple gown from the brand’s Love Parade show that won high praise from fans on social media.
House of Gucci earned broadly positive reviews, with The Independent describing the movie as a “titillating, ridiculous and utterly engrossing soap opera”.
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