My mom first took me to New York in the summer of 2011. Naturally, we hit Times Square first—a perfunctory ritual for any virgin tourist. I felt like I’d stepped into a Nam June Paik video installation where competing billboard ads for American Eagle, Domino’s, and Glee coalesced into a chorus of commerce, hijacking my attention from all angles. I had found the control room of the monoculture.
When Demna took over Times Square for his first Gucci cruise show this week, he clarified his…

