Something Different: Gucci Draws Upon Manga
While it’s not the most original concept ever—whiffing, as it does, of Louis Vuitton’s collaboration with Takashi Murakami—Gucci can do no wrong in the wide eyes of its Japanese customers. The Italian house has commissioned manga artist Hirohiko Araki to produce a kind of comic campaign for its pre-spring 2013 collection.
The story—called Jolyne, Fly High With Gucci—centers on a recurring Araki character, Jolyne Cujoh, who, while sounding like something out of a Dolly Parton song, is a college student who finds herself inheriting piles of Gucci items from her mother. Naturally this sets her off on a series of strange adventures that involve wearing statement pieces and plenty of reasons to display the Gucci logo. In fact the artist routinely incorporates brand logos in his work, much to the chagrin of lawyers, reportedly.