COLD FRONT: The new-look Gucci under Alessandro Michele loves the great outdoors. Following the Italian brand’s spring runway show in Milan on an old railway platform, Kering honcho François-Henri Pinault hosted an open-air dinner in the garden of a grand palazzo, with two long tables laid under a clear tent with space heaters competing with the chilly evening air.
Dakota Johnson, Charlotte Casiraghi and Karen Elson were among VIPs in filmy dresses that settled in for a five-course dinner courtesy of famous Italian chef Massimo Bottura, of Osteria Francescana, a three-Michelin-star restaurant in Modena. Salma Hayek donned a bow blouse-and-brocade suit, although her legs were bare.
Between the chicken and risotto courses, Pinault tapped his fork on a glass and delivered a speech that made Michele blush and bow his head.
“I’m proud to see your creativity blossom, and to see you express your immense talent,” Pinault said, praising the “sensitive and colorful vision you’re bringing to Gucci.”