MILAN – Paul Mescal or Xiao Zhan? Why choose between two of today’s most sought-after darlings in the movie and music industries when both can join the celebrations of an iconic footwear style?
Gucci tapped the talents to front its newest campaign, to be released on Monday, this time to mark the 70th anniversary of its Horsebit 1953 loafer design. The images add to a string of campaigns focused on highlighting the brand’s signature designs, following the ones dedicated to the Jackie 1961, Horsebit 1955 and Bamboo 1947 bags.
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Conversely to those focusing on the handbags, the loafers’ images have been developed under the creative vision of Sabato De Sarno, therefore building on the new visual course marked by the buzzy campaigns featuring Daria Werbowy and real-life couple Bad Bunny and Kendall Jenner.
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The new in-studio images portray both Mescal and Zhan at ease wearing the house’s loafers, which are defined by the miniaturized horse bit — a double ring connected by a bar — that is a signature of the Kering-owned brand.
In particular, Chinese sensation and Gucci global brand ambassador Zhan was photographed by Feng Li lounging on leather armchairs while wearing his forest green and chocolate-hued shoes with a white shirt, denim pants and a camel coat, or sporting black loafers in contrast to a total white look and checkered coat.
Photographed by Heji Shin, Gucci ambassador and Academy-award nominated actor Mescal was portrayed in different outfits and poses. These ranged from sitting or lying on a carpeted floor while wearing a white T-shirt, green pants and black loafers, to putting his feet against a wall or on a crystal table to further spotlight the shoes, which he wore with white socks.
Tracing back to the ‘50s, the horse bit element is among the key codes of the Florentine house, appearing as decorative motif or functional detail across ready-to-wear, bags, belts, jewelry and silk scarves, among others.
The introduction of footwear coincided with the opening of the first Gucci boutique in New York City and the brand’s American expansion. The horse bit first became a signature element in men’s shoe styles, before being translated into a women’s version in the ‘60s. While initially offered with a tapered silhouette and a higher heel, the women’s design was eventually revisited to mirror the men’s shape in the late ‘70s. In 1985, the style became part of the permanent collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art as an example of Italian iconic design.
Over the decades, Gucci’s different creative directors offered their own take on the footwear’s classic shape and its equestrian aesthetics, including De Sabato’s most recent interpretation — a hard-to-miss flatform version that stood out at his debut runway show in Milan last month.
This version also appeared in the British leg of the “Gucci Cosmos” exhibition, a traveling show highlighting the brand’s pivotal designs from its more than 102-year history. As reported, the exhibit was first unveiled in Shanghai in April, before opening last week at 180 Studios at 180 The Strand in London, where it will run until Dec. 31.
While Zhan was on the star-studded guest list of the Shanghai opening, Mescal joined “Normal People” costar Daisy Edgar-Jones and the likes of George MacKay, Salma Hayek Pinault, Lila Moss, David Sims, Pierpaolo Piccioli and De Sarno in feting the British opening last week.