After a few seasons inspired by 70s glam and stylish rock stars, Gucci's Frida Giannini went further back in time for her A/W12 collection. Looking at the great poets of the 19th century, she presented a romantic collection blossoming in sartorial magic similar to how to the writers made the world melt with words. The aim was not to make the models look like poets, but to convey a message, just as the poets did with their writings, using luxe floral prints, velvet jackets and fur-adorned coats.

Painting her picture using mostly grey and blue shades - with dots of burgundy and bottle green - Giannini comfortably went from 19th century cavalry jackets and jacquard patterns to mohair grunge cardigans, owing more to 1990 than 1890, and casually styled as a layer on top of sleek double-breasted suit jackets. Still, her music of choice was even more modern, as Frida premiered a track from the new Air album, out later this spring. Loose coats - some with an oversized lining, others in ribbed wool - shared the stage with cropped leather jackets and pea coats. Heavy cable knits perfectly married Giannini's modern and romantic vision...

Dazed Digital: Where did you start off when designing this collection?
Frida Giannini: The inspiration behind the show was the poets of the 19th century like Arthur Rimbaud and Paul-Marie Verlaine, bur also the movies of Visconti and Helmut Berger. 

DD: What is it with these films that you like?
Frida Giannini: I love the sort of decadence and spirit of modernity so I wanted play with layering... lots of coats, lots of shirts!

DD: A few pieces felt like 90s grunge...
Frida Giannini: Exactly because besides talking about 19th century poets I wanted something younger and the effortless grunge attitude worked perfect with that.

DD: The last few jackets seemed very complex... what were they?
Frida Giannini: They were jacquard and velvet jackets with sequins and lurex details attached to them! We used a technique that comes from the world of tapestry but we used that on the clothes instead!

DD: There are few army influcenes in there as well?
Frida Giannini: Yeah I really liked the idea of a hint of military attitude, which you can see in the Prussian jackets and riding boots.