Production: Benjamin Gilovitz, Sasha Smyslova, Heather Semler;

Production Design: Natalie Ziering; 

Story: Dirk Standen, Hamish Anderson;

Cinematography: Jason McCormick

Original Music: Devonté Hynes;

Editor: Jamie Foord; 

Creative Director: Jack Becht.

The myth of Orpheus and Eurydice in its recreated, contemporary form, shows the Gucci’s 2016 pre-fall collection by the Creative Director Alessandro Michele. Retelling of the Greek myth gives a new perspective to the story which is much more understandable for young viewers. This time the story takes place in New York City where late-night dive bars and the lawns of Central Park stand in for the temples of Ancient Greece. The video consists of four sequences (The Wedding, The Bliss, The Descent, and Petition of Hades) accompanied by music. The only words spoken in the movie are in Italian, as Hades tells Orpheus when he petitions him on a guitar for the return to life of Eurydice: "Take her. But do not turn back to look at her because you’ll lose her forever." The video shows a staggering number of designs created for the 2015 pre-fall collection modelled by the main characters and their many companions. The series plot although in a modern New York setting presents the traditional myth of Orpheus and Eurydice and their tragic love story in parallel to the Gucci way of looking for fashion inspirations in the past.

Coppola’s visuals represent an original, new form of reception of mythology for young adults and adults. The beauty of the fashion designs increases in combination with the beauty of the actors and models. The moods fluctuate changing from joy to despair, to joy and back to despair; they are taken straight from the tragic Greek myth about a great love that ends in a tragic death which is then conquered by the sublime art of Orpheus’ music but suffers a second reversal when the musician’s human weakness interferes with Hades’ demand and he cannot stop himself from looking back at Eurydice -banishing his dearest love to the Underworld for ever. 

Produced in the style of a ballet fairy story, the video plays a double purpose of advertising Gucci’s fashion and of attracting young audiences to its excellence through building its own myth connected to the same universal values as the original story. It makes perfect marketing sense to prepare in advance a young clientele that will grow up in admiration and hopefully in means to be able to afford Gucci’s designs in the future.

GUCCI Presents: The Myth of Orpheus and Eurydice starring Jane Birkin's daughter, thelovemagazine.co.uk, 2016 (accessed: August 20, 2018).

Manning, Emily, Gia Coppola and Dev Hynes Reunite for a Very GUCCI Fairytale, i-d.vice.com, June 6, 2016 (accessed: August 20, 2018).

Studeman, Kristin Tice, Gia Coppola’s New Film Takes Downtown Cool to Mythic Levels, wmagazine.com, June 6, 2016 (accessed: August 20, 2018).