GCDS presents 'Toys for Adults' collection at Milan Fashion Week

During Milan Fashion Week, GCDS (Giuliano Calza Design Studio) presented its Autumn/Winter 2024 collection 'Toys for Adults', designed by brothers Giuliano and Giordano Calza. The show evoked the late 2000s through styling, makeup, and hair inspired by cult films, TV, and music icons. Young photographers captured backstage with compact digital cameras. The collection explores a desire to stay connected to childhood, contrasting with adulthood, as play becomes fetishized and looks reinterpreted erotically. Styling by Carine Roitfeld, muse of Tom Ford, who revolutionized Gucci in the 1990s with photographer Mario Testino, guided the brand's repositioning. The show progressed from transparent, ethereal pieces alluding to childhood to saturated colors and thick fabrics representing adulthood, with padding enhancing a camp aesthetic. The climax featured faux furs and references to horror icons like Chucky from Universal Pictures and Universal Monsters such as Dracula, highlighting adult fears. Accessories included a heart bag customized by Polly Pocket from Mattel and the brand's best-selling 'Morso' heels reimagined as sneakers. GCDS, founded by the Calza brothers after their start in Shanghai (Giuliano studied political science, Giordano economics at Bocconi University), previously ran five restaurants before returning to Italy. The brand has a strong presence in Asia and Italy with monobrand boutiques and flagship stores, and is deeply connected to pop culture.