I wore… Skirt & Bag: Gucci, Sweater: Joseph, Boots: Hobbs
Necklace: Anne Bowes Jewellery

I must say I feel very jet set (and more than a little bit smug) writing this post from my hotel room in Florence, waiting for the glass of Prosecco I ordered on room service to arrive. You will be getting the inside scoop on all our Florentine antics shortly, but first and foremost I think I should tell you about the trip’s main event… Gucci’s AW12 catwalk show in Milan this Wednesday. As a long term Gucci obsessive I was BEYOND excited to actually be attending one of their shows and the experience certainly did not disappoint. After a morning of shopping we retired to our rooms before meeting in the hotel bar for a pre-show bellini or two. Fashion Week is probably the only time when it’s not only acceptable but practically mandatory to drink throughout the day and after battling our way through the throngs of paparazzi and street style snappers we arrived at the venue to be handed yet another glass of champagne. Now I adore London Fashion Week and pretty much all of the designers who show there but in terms of sheer fabulousness, it doesn’t hold a candle to this. Held in the Diana Majestic hotel (where we were also oh-so-conveniently staying) and attended by some of the most glamorous individuals I’ve ever laid eyes on, the show was off to a damn good start before the first look even hit the runway but oh… when it did.

Gothic glamour was the name of the game and Gucci’s creative director Frida Gianni offered it up in spades. This was elegant opulence at its very best, combining luxurious fabrics and a nocturnal palette with truly mesmerizing effect. Military style coats, slouchy trousers, and flat-heeled leather riding boots were interspersed with sheer chiffon blouses, fine lace and hothouse floral prints, making for fierce femininity with an androgynous twist. Outerwear came in the deliciously louche form of velvet smoking jackets, luscious furs and billowing capes, both practical and almost unbearably chic.

Gucci can always be relied upon to provide truly show stopping gowns and this season was certainly no exception. Velvet is a fabric rarely seen on the red carpet but Frida’s stunning leopard jacquard numbers, complete with naval grazing necklines and jewel toned sheen, could be about to change that. The same applies to feathers which covered entire dresses, inky black and darkly seductive. Just as I thought things couldn’t get any more mesmerizing we were treated to an array of dramatic, chiffon dreams complete with thigh-high slits and jewel encrusted bodices. Overall the collection offered a highly original take on “romanticism” according to Frida Gianni and I, for one, was converted.

Love Ella. x