"Epilogue," unfolded today at Rome’s gilded and golden late-Mannerist Palazzo Sacchetti. A live stream began Friday morning, giving the brand’s devotees a glimpse of the pre-show behind-the-scenes action — “a visual narrative feature,” or, the mechanics of the collection’s lookbook shoot. This season Michele’s own Gucci design team modeled the collection, both a smart way to avoid putting working models in potential danger and to encourage us to remember the human effort behind the clothes we love. In the grand rooms, we saw his team having their hair and makeup done, photographers setting up shoot angles, and showrunners putting the final props in place; outside in the romantic gardens, a scene not unlike a Beatrix Potter story unfolded: rafts of ducks squawked, models lay down in blankets of flowerbeds, and giant vegetables were strewn across the paths. Everyone wore face coverings and PPE, reminding us that, even in the most dream-like setting, the New Normal™ will always be shrouded by the threat of the virus. Soon after, the livestream flickered into action, taking us from bucolic escape to retro techscape: after a digitally-manipulated voice read the show notes to us, Michele appeared to say: