Gucci opens Milan Fashion Week with Eighties inspired collection as Alessandro Michele continues with his maximalist approach

If you've never been clubbing in a museum with a large crowd of sequin-obsessed extroverts, it's hard to convey the experience of being an audience member at Alessandro Michele’s Gucci collection in Milan this afternoon.

At the brand’s huge headquarters on the outskirts of the city, models clad in his signature eclectic clobber strode around statues and columns that would have looked more at home in the Pincoteca di Brera than being flashed with the strobe lighting that accompanied the show’s banging soundtrack.

The UV lights even meant that you sometimes couldn't tell for sure what colour the clothes were, but when you're enjoying the kind of success Michele is, that's not really the point.

Since his surprise appointment at Gucci in 2015, the designer has gained fans around the globe with his eclectic approach to the brand, so it comes at little surprise that he didn't go for a change of direction today. In fact, the show notes heralded a defiant resistance to it. “Resist, then. Resist acceleration and its obsessive panting that risks shattering life.”

To this end, the requisite logo bomber jackets, printed trouser suits, pyjamas, snake motifs, leopard print and thousands of sequins all made an appearance, to the delight of the die-hard fans in the front row, all of whom were dripping head-to-toe in similar looks.

His customers love what he does, and will no doubt be thrilled that he hasn't suddenly taken a more minimalist approach.

For spring/summer 2018 there was a distinctly Eighties feel, with Farah Fawcett flicked hairstyles, exaggerated shoulder pads, bumbags and even - shock horror - a shell suit.

Menswear - which is shown at the same time - offered tiny short shorts paired with ties and blazers, deliberately creased tailoring, and a standout yellow checked suit that Rupert Bear would have snapped up in a shot.

Accessories came in the form of crystal encrusted sunglasses and Stormtrooper-esque skull caps, as well as tiaras worn as necklaces and glittery hair slides for the boys.

Continuing the maximalist theme, this was an absolutely enormous collection with dozens of looks - the finale alone took over three minutes to file past. When it comes to Gucci, more is definitely more.