• by Barbara Lippert , Columnist, October 17, 2024

As the frontwoman for Blondie, Debbie Harry was a pioneer in the downtown New York City punk/new wave music scene from the mid-1970s onward.

And apart from taking a few years off in the ‘80s to nurse her bandmate and then-romantic partner, bass guitarist Chris Stein (he is now alive and well), Harry is still working, with acting gigs and a memoir that came out in 2019. And she’s still writing and recording music.

What’s more, these days, Blondie seems to be finding new generations of fans. Last year, they played sets at Coachella and on stage at Glastonbury Festival in England, where concert-goers swayed as one to “Heart of Glass,” conducted by Harry in a mirrored visor and CBGB T-shirt.

So it honestly came as a shock to learn that the still-rockin’ rocker is 79 years old, gulp.

In this sumptuous new Gucci campaign, though, she sports the same iconic look, (the cheekbones hold) in a more elegant version, with well-earned white hair vs. her previous platinum blonde that gave the band its name.

Called “We Will Always Have London,” the campaign was shot by photographer/ activist Nan Goldin, who documented the gritty underground club scene in New York City in the 1970s and has intersected with Harry in the worlds of art and fashion over the years.

As we see, these icons of the counterculture have both gone ultra-luxe for this campaign, which showcases a young, diverse crowd of beautiful models in sumptuous romantic scenes in and around London, wearing the beautiful clothes of Gucci’s latest cruise collection while up-to-something in hotels, townhouses, exclusive bars and along the Thames.

Millennial cellist Kelsey Lu is shown playing, also adding richness to the video soundtrack of Blondie’s still-intriguing “Heart of Glass” -the much-covered rock/disco fusion hit that was the top-selling single in the U.S. in 1980.

One of the print ads picture Harry sitting in the back of a black cab, alone, inviting viewers to finish the story. Another is more grounded. Harry is shown with a cute dog and a large version of the Blondie bag that takes up part of the seat.

Indeed, the campaign is about reimagining and remastering the past.

In this case, Gucci creative director Sabato De Sarno, as part of his Cruise 2025 collection, updated the brand’s “Blondie” bag, first launched in 1971. (With no connection to the  then, yet-to-be-famous band or its lead singer.)

The linkage is clever this time around.

The relaunched bags are a rounded version of the original, featuring a large, raised interlocking-Gs logo. The Gs come from the Italian luxury firm’s founder’s extremely G-based name: Guccio Gucci.

And even though many other Gucci branding motifs are still popular, (the horse bit and the name spelled out in letters)  the interlocking Gs have timeless power.

According to the press release, De Sarno’s reinterpretation “is designed to recall the original’s effortless insouciance and the heady, liberated spirit of the 1970s.”

Some may argue with that interpretation of the ‘70s, but certainly, in the time since, mainstream consumers have coveted more upscale lives, including stretching to buy the ultra-status items once worn only by (rich) aristocratic tastemakers like Jackie O.

Why did DeSarno chose to have the brand’s Cruise 2025 fashion show at the Tate Modern  in London? “I owe a lot to this city,” he said in the release. Also it turns out that 100 years ago, while working as a porter and elevator attendant at The Savoy Hotel, a young Guccio Gucci encountered the refined bags of the traveling class. That sparked him to start a line of beautifully crafted leather goods. His eponymous brand was born in 1921.

The rest is history (or recycling.)

Indeed, “We Will Always Have London” offers a rich mix for the human imagination, given the circle game of life and design it evokes. Like Debbie Harry’s music, it’s a great fusion.