GUCCI
Living and breathing the brand

Gucci was transformed from the mid-1990s through the vision and leadership of Tom Ford and Domenico de Sole, expanding into global markets and making premium acquisitions including Yves Saint Laurent. Over the period 1997-2002, Madelyn Postman was an influential creative director and production specialist in Gucci Group’s corporate image department.

BRIEF
Following initial briefing on the corporate-level ‘Gucci bible’, it soon became apparent that, for Gucci to thrive within its image, the design team needed to live in continual contact with the brand. Tasked with ‘policing’ the Gucci brand, they had to ensure every communication and material manifestation was on-brand and top-notch.

APPROACH
Madelyn Postman’s work for Gucci covered everything printed, including advertising, packaging, print design for client brochures, and in-store point-of-sale. Besides creative direction there was the production aspect, usually involving external partners. Detailed coordination was essential to achieve Gucci’s painstaking standards: for example, to optimise the execution of Gucci’s brown packaging concept required coordinating colours and textures across dozens of substrates.

The creative and production responsibilities ranged across product lines (fragrances, timepieces, eyewear) and encompassed fashion shows and trunk shows; it also varied by season, with two main advertising campaigns each year carrying the season’s theme and involving modulation of the brand.

RESULT
Joining Gucci as one of two Corporate Image creatives, Madelyn Postman soon advanced to art directing the first Gucci Group website. Entrusted from 2000 with the newly-acquired Sergio Rossi footwear brand, she created its elegant tan packaging and art directed the first Sergio Rossi website and seductive ‘nocturnal’ photography for its catalogue.

FEEDBACK
“I had the privilege to work with Madelyn for over five years. Her positive energy, creativity, poise and business acumen are rare qualities to find in one person!”
Karen Joyce, Corporate Image Department, Gucci