FASHION

Model Yuka Mannami Enters Gucci’s Own Garden of Earthly Delights

The secret to the Gucci girl look? A bit of excess.


On Wednesday, Gucci’s Alessandro Michele debuted a new art project: Gucci 4 Rooms. Michele commissioned four artists — including “GucciGhost” Trouble Andrew — to create installations in the Gucci shop in Tokyo’s Ginza district, and in Dover Street Market Tokyo, also in Ginza. The installations, by artists Mr., Chiharu Shiota, and Daito Manabe in addition to Andrew, are also available to view in virtual reality online, but for the IRL component, Michele recruited a clutch of Japanese It girls including DJ Mademoiselle Yulia, Instagram stars and sometimes-models Meg Baby and Hikari Mori, and runway model Yuka Mannami, all clad in head-to-toe Gucci florals, embroidery, and fur. Tokyo Fashion Week might still be a week away, but the city’s resident It girls are already gearing up for a big season.

Yuka Mannami in Gucci at the opening of Gucci 4 Rooms in Tokyo, Japan, October 2016.

Getty Images for GUCCI

Who: Yuka Mannami.

When: Wednesday, October 12.

Where: The opening of the Gucci 4 Rooms installation in Tokyo, Japan.

What: A matching silk bomber and skirt in the Gucci Garden print with matching snake-embellished heels and a structured bag adorned with roses, finished off with statement cocktail rings.

Why: Newly minted indie screen queen Anya Taylor-Joy wore the same ensemble front-row at Gucci’s Spring 2017 show in Milan last month, styled with bright red platform heels, the silk jacket draped over her shoulders and a black silk top underneath. But where Taylor-Joy went chill with the look, Japanese model Yuka Mannami took it to its polished extreme. She recycled the jacket and skirt that Taylor-Joy had worn, but elevated them with matching periwinkle, near-sculptural accessories. There’s a hint of schoolgirl chic here, with the jacket’s tie-neck top and ruffled shoulders and the pleated skirt. But sky-high platform shoes that snake up Mannami’s ankles (suitably, with snakes wrapping around the front), a floral bag, and chunky jewelry lean into excess. Because what’s a Gucci girl without a bit of decadence?