Unlock the Editor’s Digest at no cost
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favorite tales on this weekly e-newsletter.
Fashion shouldn’t be obscure or put on. That’s the view of Gucci designer Sabato de Sarno, who offered his third womenswear assortment at the Triennale di Milano on Friday throughout purple lacquered flooring — the identifiable color of Gucci beneath his tenure.
The objective of elevating the on a regular basis has been the designer’s intention since his first assortment. And whereas the reset, following seven years of maximalism at the Kering-owned label, got here as a shock to many, de Sarno has caught to his weapons: sure, fashion is for expressing oneself, however dressing up doesn’t need to be thus far faraway from actuality.
“Casual grandeur” is how de Sarno described the spring/summer time 2025 assortment in his present notes, later elaborating backstage that this “means wearing [clothes how] you want and like, but in a very easy way”. This encapsulates his method to design: nothing is just too difficult to put on, or to make sense of.
It could be tough translating that into impactful promoting campaigns or catwalk exhibits, the place visually placing items are likely to create the extra lasting impressions. That would possibly clarify why the present house, lit to imitate the hues of a sundown, felt extra intimate this time round. Guests — together with Daisy Edgar-Jones, sitting subsequent to Dakota Johnson, and Kirsten Dunst, seatmate to Kering CEO François-Henri Pinault — may see the garments up shut.
On the runway, there have been vests and good trousers accessorised with gold jewelry that wrapped round fashions’ arms, necks and wrists. It was designed to imitate the deal with form of the Bamboo 1947 bag, an archival model that de Sarno reintroduced this season in lacquer and Plexiglas. De Sarno acknowledged that the baggage, not the garments, have been “the star of the show” — an method that is smart, given {that a} majority of the model’s revenues comes from leather-based items and equipment.
There have been additionally lace slips and Grecian draped clothes paired with knee-high boots, which de Sarno clearly has a penchant for — although this time they have been a idler hybrid, with the model’s signature horse-bit buckle on high. Heavier textures featured, together with suede, denim, leather-based and full sequinned types, as did surprisingly vibrant colors similar to a neon yellow or fiery tangerine print. Closing the present was a quartet of appears: wide-leg trousers with floor-trailing coats and cardigans with the Gucci monogram. “These new shapes and colours are to be worn in a casual way,” de Sarno reiterated.
Unlike previous exhibits, the temper was undeniably joyful. De Sarno acquired a standing ovation as he took his bow to the tune of “Non voglio mica la luna” by singer Fiordaliso, which each Italian attendee appeared to know and sing alongside to. “At my last show in September, we played [a remix of] ‘Ancora ancora ancora’ by Mina,” the designer defined. “I’m younger than those songs, but my mum played them a lot when I was a child, so they stick with me.”
The sentimental method was touching, however it won't be sufficient to reverse the model’s fortunes. Plummeting revenues at the model have been an issue for dad or mum firm Kering: Gucci, with €10bn in income final 12 months, accounted for half of group gross sales and two-thirds of earnings. Kering’s revenues amounted to €9bn within the first half of 2024, down 11 per cent on a comparable foundation. They have been dragged down by Gucci, whose income was €4.1bn, down 18 per cent like-for-like.
The problem is getting individuals excited by de Sarno’s designs, which have now been in shops for round eight months — a problem that has been exacerbated by a wider luxurious slowdown. On witnessing items such because the embellished coats and sky-high platforms from his former collections worn by influencers and different friends off the catwalk, I assumed they regarded nice. And isn’t dressing for actuality what de Sarno has all the time sought to do?
Perhaps the difficulty has been making a significant connection to the model, which in the end fuels want. That’s all of the extra essential, given Gucci’s common worth rises of at least 4 per cent over the previous month, in accordance with estimates from funding financial institution Citi; one wonders if the model is doing sufficient to have interaction those that aren’t at the exhibits. Hopefully, the latest hiring of former Louis Vuitton and Prada communications govt Stefano Cantino in a newly created deputy CEO position will assist.
Sign up for Fashion Matters, your weekly e-newsletter with the most recent tales in model. Follow @financialtimesfashion on Instagram and subscribe to our podcast Life & Art wherever you hear
