In the gilded whirlwind of Milan Fashion Week, where heritage houses and boundary-pushers collide, Mia Khalifa lent her star power to GCDS’ landmark 10th anniversary presentation. At the center of it all stood Giuliano Calza, the creative director whose decade-long reign has transformed the Italian label into a playground of fearless maximalism.
The Studio on the Eve of Showtime
It was 11:00 a.m. on the day before the milestone runway. Inside the GCDS studio, stylists fine-tuned final looks while hopeful models waited in line. Production teams dispatched invitations amid scattered espresso cups. And right in the middle, beaming with an ear-to-ear smile, was Giuliano Calza himself.
The “What’s In My Bag” SS26 Collection
Calza has never been one for restraint. In an era leaning toward beige minimalism, he piles on the ideas with signature exuberance. “I’m doing a barbecue of ideas,” he explains of the Spring/Summer 2026 collection. “Fun, prints, pythons, boots, collaborations… the absolute most.”
The season’s offering, titled “What’s In My Bag,” unfolded inside a handcrafted mall where models stepped out from an oversized GCDS shopping bag. Archival graphic prints nodded to the brand’s history, fresh collaborations included Valentino Rossi, and one standout accessory took the theme literally: a handbag shaped as a hand.
Dismiss GCDS as mere kitsch and you miss its precision. Built on foundations of pink vinyl, Hello Kitty motifs, and unfiltered aura, the label has constructed a million-dollar empire while staying true to luxury’s deepest codes. Betty Boop leather jackets and fanged Morso heels sit comfortably alongside any heritage house’s rigor.
No Archives, Only Forward Motion
Calza recoils at the word “archive.” For him, it evokes taxidermy rather than living creation. When asked to stage a “best of” celebration, his response was immediate. “I was terrified when they asked me to do a celebration parade of the ‘best of,’” he admits with a laugh. “I said, ‘F-cking hell no.’ I don’t want to do that. I just want to keep creating.”
That restless urgency traces back to 2016. After a three-year stint in China ended abruptly with visa issues, Calza returned home feeling the ground had vanished. “I felt like my world was crumbling,” he recalls. “But instead, it was a good new start. I was building the house for my idea, but I had no expectations. Then it became larger than life.”
Calza measures triumph not in revenue or viral moments but in the community he has built. His proudest story involves a young woman now working upstairs in the studio who confessed she once sneaked into his parties as a university student.
“She said it was the best party in Milan, and now she’s working here,” Calza shares, his face lighting up. “That’s what 패션 is for me. Because growing up, I was that kid. I was sneaking into the Versace shows or the Dolce & Gabbana after-parties. I am that kid.”
In that full-circle moment, the once-uninvited guest now holds the keys, keeping the door open for anyone bold enough to step through. Ten years in, GCDS remains a celebration of unapologetic joy, where every collection invites the world to join the party.
Images Courtesy of GCDS
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