Rewind to December, and you may recall that Gucci teased its pre-FW16 collection via Snapchat, previewing a photoshoot with legendary photographer and HERO collaborator Ari Marcopoulos (see HERO 15 for an exclusive Ari Marcopoulos 32-page zine of never before seen images titled Chaos), filmed in an Italian villa. Yesterday all was revealed, teaming up the two heavyweights for a new book collaboration titled Epiphany.

Published by IDEA, the book provides a behind-the-scenes look at Michele’s vibrant collection: floral prints, yellow birds, and patterned snakes. “Epiphany is a Greek word,” said Marcopoulos, explaining the book’s title as a nod to the Greek god Dionysus and the designer’s Dionysus bag. “He is the god of fertility and winemaking and ritual madness. He is the one having a good time.”

Having moved to New York in 1980, Dutch-born Marcopoulos began working with Andy Warhol and Irving Penn. Over the next three decades the photographer and filmmaker has carved his name as one of the most influential artistic documentarians of American culture, amassing a huge body of work. From skateboard and graffiti scenes to the burgeoning hiphop and downtown art scenes of New York in the 1980s, from Jay-Z to Jean-Michel Basquiat and Trash Talk, through his uniquely subversive aesthetic Marcopoulos captures cultural moments with a raw immediacy.

“I, on purpose, didn’t photograph it romantically with soft lights…I used a camera with a flash [to show] modern times inside an old place … There was more freedom in the book to make images where we would have some fun while doing them.” – Ari Marcopoulos

 

Epiphany is released on May 5 at Dover Street Market New York. Marcopoulos will be signing copies from 6-8 pm.