Gucci Taps Tommey Walker as Latest Changemaker Collaborative
Gucci Vs. Everybody
Shoring up Gucci’s Changemakers initiative, the Italian luxury brand has rolled out their latest collaborative, tapping Detroit Vs. Everybody’s Tommey Walker to transcend the storied insularities of fashion and re-stitch house codes through a grass-roots lens.
“My partnership with Gucci is a dream come true,” said Walker, applauding Gucci creative director, Alessandro Michele, as a “creative genius,” and saying, “Detroit Vs. Everybody and Gucci share the same unifying ethos, to bring people together for a greater good and to transform a feeling into a cultural moment.”
The partnership champions Walker’s raison d’être: advocating on behalf of his city, too often pilloried by the media, and geographically left without recognition. “DVE has become a rally call for Detroit,” said Walker, mentioning nothing of the de facto allyship DVE offers marginalized communities worldwide. Aptly, Gucci called it “a simple concept with a powerful message.”
Scuttling the long, exclusive histories of the fashion industry, Walker and Michele have unveiled 11 iterations of the DVE’s classic t-shirt, reinterpreted with Gucci’s fabric and materials – merging luxury and optics in one. The capsule features a remixed slogan, touching on the house’s 11 Changemaker focus cities, including New York Vs. Everybody, Los Angeles Vs. Everybody, Miami Vs. Everybody and, exclusively available at Gucci’s Troy Somerset Collection boutique in Detroit, Gucci Vs. Everybody.
“There is nothing more inclusive and nothing more powerful than the concept of ‘everybody,’ and the power of unity,” Walker told WWD’s Evan Clark. “The concept of ‘everybody’ bridges cultures, races, religions, economic and social standing. The cause is the common denominator uniting us all.”
As of today, the DVE x Gucci capsule will be available online, and at Gucci’s flagship boutiques within their 11 U.S. Changemaker cities.