Harmony Korine has created a book for Gucci and it's wonderfully weird

Since Alessandro Michele took the reigns of Gucci in 2015, the fashion house has taken a turn for the strange. From an entire collection inspired by feminist professor Donna Haraway to enlisting Spanish surrealist artist Ignasi Monreal to work his magic on the SS18 campaign, this fantastically weird chapter marks a purple patch in terms of creativity.

As a stroke of genius, Gucci has enlisted director Harmony Korine – a man not adverse to an out-there creative vision – to create a new limited-edition book to accompany its pre-fall 2019 collection. Featuring demon dogs, spooky flying spirits and some pretty trippy colour inversions, Harmony shot the images of the 70s-inspired collection at two UNESCO World Heritage sites, Pompeii and the Herculaneum ruins. He also illustrated, cropped and distorted the images for the limited-edition book, drawing both its cover image and a picture that has been used across the books’ spines.

The director, who is best known for Spring Breakers, launches a new feature film later this year. In a statement to the press, he says, “Working with Alessandro Michele was such a great experience. It was a chance to shoot in historic places such as the ancient towns of Ercolano and Pompei, which are so inspiring. The special atmosphere made it a unique experience.”

Gucci by Harmony Korine will published and distributed by London’s IDEA Books in June.