Happy Birthday, @Alessandro_Michele! Michele has made his mark on fashion history—and on @Gucci—through collisions of arcana and contemporary culture. Michele’s Gucci was a juggernaut, but his wasn’t an overnight success story, and the label was better for it. “I was already grown-up when I became known to the fashion public. I was almost 42,” said Michele in a recent Vogue Italia story, “and I realized that you have to hold onto who you are and where you’re going: You have to love yourself a lot and you have to love what you do just as much. You also have to learn to say no a lot.” In doing just that, Michele encouraged the world to say a resounding “Yes” to Gucci. At the link in bio, @the_lbp offers affirmations of the designer’s talent from the pages of Vogue. Photographed by @jamie,hawkesworth, @willyvanderperre, @therealpeterlindbergh, @_TheoSion, @nadineijewere, @stefanruizphoto, and @theo123456 for Vogue