EXCLUSIVE: Gucci LACMA Art + Film Gala to Honor Director Baz Luhrmann and Artist Simone Leigh, Bring ‘Brat’ Energy With Charli XCX Performance

by · WWD
Simone Leigh, Charli XCX and Baz Luhrmann.Shaniqwa Jarvis, Harley Weir, Trent Mitchell/ Courtesy photo

This year’s Gucci-sponsored LACMA gala on Nov. 2 in Los Angeles will honor two leaders in art and film who have immense style — director Baz Luhrmann and artist Simone Leigh — and feature a performance by the “Brat” herself, Charli XCX.

Known for his theatrical productions blurring time periods, genres, high and low culture, for his maximalist visuals and pop culture flash, Luhrmann works across film, opera, theater, live events, fashion and music. The most commercially successful director in Australia, he made his debut with “Strictly Ballroom,” which premiered at the 1992 Cannes Film Festival, followed by “William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet” in 1996, a contemporary vision of the classic starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes with a ’90s aesthetic and soundtrack featuring Radiohead, Everclear and more.

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HIs 2001 Oscar-winning “Moulin Rouge” with Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman cemented Luhrmann’s reputation as the modern musical man, with lush, circa-1900 Parisian sets and costumes juxtaposed with the hit song “Lady Marmalade,” bringing together some of the biggest artists at the time — Christina Aguilera, Pink, Lil Kim and Mya. Pop musical “The Great Gatsby” (2013) had him collaborating with Jay-Z on the soundtrack and costume designer Catherine Martin collaborating with Prada, Brooks Brothers and Tiffany & Co. to create Jazz Age-inspired clothing and jewelry based on their archives. Luhrmann’s most recent film, “Elvis” (2022), was a star-making vehicle for Austin Butler and earned him a best actor Oscar.

A fashion enthusiast and frequent collaborator, Luhrmann directed a 2004 fragrance commercial for Chanel No.5, which became a model for Hollywood-branded fashion content, and has chaired the Met Gala — and is a close friend of Vogue chief content officer Anna Wintour — directing and photographing Blake Lively and Hugh Jackman for the September issue that just hit newsstands.

The first Black woman to represent the U.S. in the Venice Biennale, in 2022, Brooklyn-based artist Leigh works in sculpture, video, and installation to explore the themes of Black female-identified subjectivity and labor. Leigh describes her practice as “auto-ethnographic,” and her sculptures often employ forms traditionally associated with African art, merging the body with domestic vessels such as baskets and jugs.

Leigh first began exhibiting in the early 2000s, was included in the 2012 and 2019 Biennial exhibitions at The Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, and was the first artist to be commissioned for the High Line Plinth, where her monumental sculpture “Brick House” was unveiled in 2019.

At the 59th Venice Biennale, in addition to her exhibition “Simone Leigh: Sovereignty,” she was also included in the central exhibition “The Milk of Dreams,” for which she was awarded the Golden Lion for Best Participant. Her work is in the collections of The Museum of Modern Art, The Whitney Museum of American Art and The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, all in New York; The Art Institute of Chicago, and the ICA/Boston, among others.

Her current exhibition, “Simone Leigh,” is at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the California African American Museum through Jan. 25. Organized by the ICA Boston, her first comprehensive survey includes works from the Venice Biennale, bringing cowrie shells, braiding, rosettes and figurative faces to striking feminine forms.

“Simone Leigh is one of the most captivating and important voices in contemporary art, brilliantly melding an array of different artistic traditions and centering Black femme subjects in powerful and moving ways,” said Michael Govan, LACMA chief executive officer and Wallis Annenberg director. “Baz Luhrmann has crafted an emotional cinematic oeuvre over three decades, driven by his imagination and passion. We are excited to honor him alongside Simone and celebrate their remarkable careers.”

Charli XCX will perform at the gala, and Gucci will continue in its 13th year as the presenting sponsor of the annual event, which raises funds to support the museum as it races to finish its expansion project, and for its film programs.

Last year’s event was a Hollywood coming out for new Gucci creative director Sabato De Sarno, who took the opportunity to launch his first Ancora Notte eveningwear and menswear on the night’s VIPs and models, including Kirsten Dunst and Daisy Edgar-Jones.