After nearly a decade of nostalgia-laced maximalism at Gucci, a new era of pragmatism has arrived under its new creative director, Sabato de Sarno.
Unveiling his first menswear collection at Milan fashion week on Friday afternoon after his womenswear debut in September, de Sarno’s Gucci aesthetic is a striking departure from the wistful glamour of his predecessor Alessandro Michele, which dominated much of the second half of the 2010s.
In place of sequined jumpsuits and corsage-adorned corduroy came a more overtly sensual wardrobe comprising clean-cut suiting featuring the Gucci monogram, unbuttoned satin shirts and chunky knitwear worn with patent peacoats, trenches, and satin bomber jackets. Pops of sparkle, rather than the grand opulence of old, came in diamante embellished trousers, vests and chokers.
“It’s a story of joy of life, of passion, of humanity, of people, of real life, of irreverent glamour, of provocation, of confidence, of simplicity, of immediate feelings and emotions, of a specific type of art, of words,” relayed the designer in the show notes.
Gucci owners Kering are presumably hoping de Sarno – who has previously worked at fellow luxury powerhouses Valentino and Prada – will be the person to bring Gucci back to the kind of profitability they enjoyed in recent years, so a collection of useful luxury clothes with much more commercial potential and broader appeal is an understandable direction.
As was the emphasis on leather goods, the category where luxury houses make their money. Here, the Jackie bag, first designed in 1961 before being reimagined by creative director Tom Ford in the 1990s (an era currently capturing the imagination of gen Z), was seen on the arm of most of the models. When it wasn’t, a monogrammed rucksack or bumbag was being toted.
While Michele famously blurred binary stereotypes with his collections showing menswear and womenswear together, de Sarno has reverted back to showing them at separate times of the year, albeit with a shared sentiment. The words he used to describe this collection – “it’s a story of music and nights out, of sweat, dancing, and singing. It’s a story of family, of kissing, lots and lots of kisses” – were also in the womenswear show notes. Although both collections lent more towards restraint than carefree abandon.
Gucci is in the throes of re-establishing itself after the departure of Michele in 2022 and its long-term CEO Marco Bizzarri last year, who collectively steered the company towards sales of nearly €10bn between 2015 and 2022.
Under new interim CEO Jean-François Palus, the company is restructuring its operations, including a plan to move a large part of its design studio from Rome to Milan that resulted in protests by staff in November and the first strike by creative professionals in Gucci’s 102-year history.
