It makes perfect sense that Ridley Scott’s “House of Gucci,” based on the book “The House of Gucci: A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour, and Greed,” should create a frenzy for costume designs, courtesy of Scott’s go-to designer, Oscar winner Janty Yates.
When Lady Gaga posted the first official look at the film from Italy, where the drama is shooting, sharing an on-set Instagram photo of herself with co-star Adam Driver, the internet almost broke. Driver plays Maurizio Gucci, the grandson of the house’s founder, Guccio Gucci. Gaga plays Patrizia Reggiani, his wife, who was convicted of orchestrating his murder by a hitman in 1995. Captioned “Signore e Signora Gucci,” the photo became a sensation for the couple’s vintage 1980s-era fashions, as well as Driver’s Aran cream-colored cable-knit sweater.
It only helps that Gucci has given the production unlimited access to the fashion house’s vintage archives, allowing Yates — who won an Oscar for her work on Scott’s “Gladiator” and has partnered with him on “Body of Lies,” “American Gangster,” “Kingdom of Heaven,” “Prometheus” and “The Last Duel” — to accurately capture historical details.
Included in Driver’s look: a white ski jacket tied around his waist and matching ski pants. Gaga is draped in gold chains and pearls and outfitted in all black, with a white fur Cossack hat. The outfits are reflective of their status as a celebrity power couple in the elite social circles of both Italy and New York.
Gaga also has been spotted on set wearing a vintage Burberry plaid trenchcoat and a restrained all-black funeral outfit, and has been photographed in a red wrap dress accessorized with jewels and drop earrings, topped with a sable fur coat, representing the height of wealthy ’80s and ’90s fashion.
Yates will also be dressing Al Pacino as Aldo Gucci, Jared Leto as Paolo Gucci and Jeremy Irons as Rodolfo Gucci. The film dives into the 12-year marriage between the lead characters and examines the infighting that occurred within the Gucci family as Maurizio inherited a controlling stake in Gucci after his father Rodolfo’s death in 1983.
Pacino’s wardrobe includes a beige suit, a mustard tie and a white-and-yellow-striped shirt with a blue pocket square. Leto, meanwhile, was completely transformed by full prosthetic makeup with a receding hairline and outfitted in a purple wide-wale Western-style corduroy suit with vintage Gucci green and tan loafers.
Scott is working with other trusted collaborators, including cinematographer Dariusz Wolski and production designer Arthur Max, to bring the sordid tale to life. It’s been a while since a film still in production has attracted this much attention for its costumes, but this is, after all, Gucci.
The film is set to open on Nov. 24, placing it in prime territory for Oscar consideration. If the stars align, Academy voters, too, will have costumes on their mind.