House of Gucci Includes Scandal, Murder and of course, Fashion

In the film, costuming plays a crucial role in showing the narrative arcs of the characters. For that, each custom was exclusively selected without being repeated during the whole film.

Directed by Ridley Scott, House of Gucci is nowadays one of the most fashionable films in the cinema history. Not only does this film show the tensions among members of the Gucci’s family as they fight each other for control of its ultimate legacy but it also includes plenty of scandal, betrayal, murder and, of course, fashion.

In the cast, Lady Gaga (Patrizia), starring alongside Adam Driver (Maurizio), Jared Leto, Al Pacino and Salma Hayek.

Fashion is a crucial aspect for the film since it helped to tell the story about the Guccis as it was in the past, including truly iconic wardrobe thanks to costume designer Janty Yates. She created more than 500 extravagant and extraordinary customs, from impeccably tailored suits and embellished gowns to big jewels and even bigger hair. She says, “It was spectacular,” “I’ve never had such an opportunity ever in my life.”

Not only did Janty Yates prepare to outfit the Guccis, but she also researched the real-life counterparts of characters like Patrizia and the history of the brand itself. As a result, all of these processes resulted in two looks (a pantsuit emblazoned with Gucci’s iconic double G logo and a silk blouse in the same print, paired with a leather skirt) being used in the film.

In the film, costuming plays a crucial role in showing the narrative arcs of the characters. For instance, Patrizia (Lady gaga) begins the film wearing feminine dresses and sweater sets and showing off a decidedly ladylike woman style in the early days of her courtship with Maurizio.

But then, Patrizia married into Milan’s elite social circles, which Yates tried to convey in a scene where Patrizia wears a figure-hugging dress and heels to work at her father’s truck company. Yates said, “She looks so sweet and innocent, but she does wear that va-va-voom green dress with high heels when she’s going to work and she knows the effect it has on the drivers of her father’s business. She’s not without guile.”

Once married into the Gucci family, Patrizia’s clothing becomes more opulent and ostentatious—a reflection of her new life of luxury. For that, the designer wore the character with over-the-top outfits complemented with lots of outrageous fine jewellery.

“Anyone who wants to dress like Patrizia would have to wear the jewels,” she said. “It was the jewels that really did seal it. You know, she’d have big earrings and lots of necklaces instead of a subtle, tasteful approach.”

Yates found that Patrizia also preferred to wear other brands like Yves Saint Laurent during her heyday as Lady Gucci. When Patrizia was Maurizio’s wife, Yates had to show a real-custom of that moment. For that, she relied on Dominic Young, who custom made costumes that resembled YSL dresses and Chanel suits of the time.

During the whole film, no costumes were repeated, resulting in a total of 65 costumes changes on Patrizia (Lady Gaga) and 40 suits on Maurizio (Adam Driver). “[Gaga] refused to repeat anything. Even earrings, so everything that we’d shoot that scene with in the morning would be put away and then we’d just start again with different jewelry, different dress, different everything,”