WWD reports that Gucci will celebrate the Year of the Rat with a capsule collection featuring Walt Disney’s most famous rodent: Mickey Mouse. Launching in stores and online last week, the expansive range dedicated to the Chinese New Year — which begins Jan. 25 — offers women’s and men’s ready-to-wear, footwear, small leather goods, scarves, jewelry and timepieces mixing the Florentine fashion house’s signature motifs with the image of the renowned cartoon character, which already popped up in previous Gucci collections, including in the spring 2019 and resort 2020 lineups.
In particular, a new Mini GG Supreme canvas with a Mickey Mouse print has been introduced for this capsule collection. The beige and ebony fabric references a vintage signature Gucci pattern from the Eighties replicated via digital printing to blend it with the image of the cartoon character appearing in varying scale. Finished off by a protective coating and embossing delivering the appearance of linen, the material has been used on footwear, such as slip-on sneakers and the brand’s signature Princetown slippers, as well as handbags and small leather goods, ranging from small bucket bags and mini backpacks to wallets, passport cases and iPhone covers. Baseball caps, luggage sets, hat cases and even hard guitar cases rendered in the same fabric also feature in the lineup.
Ready-to-wear pieces that bear Mickey Mouse include T-shirts, sweatshirts, dresses, knitwear, denim and jersey items, defined by colorful prints, embroidered patches and jacquard motifs. These also come with a special green label and tag reading “Disney x Gucci” and dedicated packaging that mix the brand’s signature red and green colors with miniature prints of Mickey Mouse.
To promote the collection, the company tapped photographer and director Harmony Korine to shoot a dedicated advertising campaign. Fronted by brand ambassador and actress Ni Ni, actor Earl Cave and designer and poet Zoë Bleu, the colorful images are set in Disneyland and feature key attractions of the amusement park, including the Sleeping Beauty Castle and Mad Tea Party’s giant spinning tea cups.
The capsule collection will be available in select Gucci stores worldwide, which will feature windows dedicated to the project. In addition, the range will be at the core of a second wave of Gucci Pins, a series of pop-up stores inspired by the pins seen on interactive digital maps. Running for about two weeks, these units will bow in 28 international locations throughout this month, starting from the Gucci Pin outpost in Hong Kong’s Canton Road. The Gucci Pin concept was first introduced in November to promote the 2019 Gift Giving collection, which celebrated the fashion house’s Flora pattern and the Ophidias line of handbags. Set to launch between late January and March, the next chapter of the project will have a psychedelic touch as the units will showcase luggage, accessories and ready-to-wear with the allover multicolor GG and stars motifs.
Concurrently to most of the openings, a customized pin with Mickey Mouse will mark the locations on Google Maps and on the company’s store finder tool. To further heighten the digital engagement with customers, the facades of these pop-up stores will provide bespoke entertainment by acting as an enchanted mirror and showing Mickey Mouse’s signature ears on the screen, offering selfie opportunities to clients and passers-by. The same implementation will be also available on the Gucci App.
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