Gee, this makes me pine for my old hippie beads and clothes...
Though caught up in the hippie/flower child/anti-establishment movement (and dressing accordingly!), I was too young for Woodstock, by 2 or 3 years. My boyfriend's brother & his girlfriend, and a few of their friends went, and came back looking like hell.... I was p.o.'d for years that I was too young to go. And it's true, he very last thing on anybody's mind was fashion! Just wear your bell-bottoms with the frayed bottom edges, keep them up with a big chunky hip-hugger belt, and put on a t-shirt, and you were good to go.
I'm not sure all of the Woodstock crowd would be mortified at Gucci resurrecting this look, or at people buying it. Many of the anti-establishment types from the 60s are now successful business people. While some of them "sold out," so to speak, others have found a way to live their corporate lives in a way that stays true to their roots. (When you have a family, it's awfully hard to reject a somewhat "establishment" life.) One hopes that they are also buying and wearing the authentic vintage wear from "back in their day." Or encouraging their children to.
It was never "money" our generation was against. Money wasn't evil merely because it was money. What we rebelled against was how money was used to oppress the less fortunate, destroy the environment, wage wars, wield power unwisely, etc. The "evil" was a focus on the pursuit of money for its own sake, rather than for how to use it to contribute to the greater good. Really, not much has changed, I guess...
So, from the perspective of a 1960's hippie Woodstock type, the real question becomes, are Gucci and those who buy its wares using their wealth in part to give back to society and help others? Or, are they gathering it merely for greed, profit, and to be noticed? That's the crux of the question. But horrified simply to see a modern designer resurrect "our" fashions for profit? I don't know.... I think our concerns, if we are still true to them, and I believe that many are. go beyond that.
Personally, I am horrified at people who would spend thousands of dollars on clothing and NOT give thousands of dollars to charity as well. If somebody can afford to spend that kind of money on clothing, they can well afford to do/give something to help others. If a company like Gucci makes millions on its apparel, it has a moral & social responsibility to give much back to good causes. I don't know how socially conscious Gucci is as an entity. But, if selling hippie/boho throwback designs were to result, for example, in them donating some profits to help Habitat for Humanity, or establish education scholarships for poor students, then I'm all for it.
