A NEW ERA BEGINS: Demna Steps Up at Gucci!

Balenciaga’s long-time creative force, Demna is the new creative director of Gucci as Sabato de Sarno stepped out last season. After working with balenciaga for almost 10 years and making it a disaster for him and the brand, now Demna takes charge of Gucci. And…. the market is having mixed feelings about it. 
In a recent poll conducted by BOF, 64% of the voters think Demna isn't the right choice for Gucci, and this opinion has been voiced by many netizens as a result of his work at Balenciaga. But, as per many people in the fashion industry, apparently Demna had created a dummy runway collection, which was impressive, and him being appointed in Gucci had nothing to do with his (not very appreciated) work at Balenciaga.

Gucci has never had the same spirit, there have always been different versions of gucci, there was tom ford gucci, which had sexy, sleek, and modern luxury spirit to it. Then, Allessandro Michelle made gucci cool for a whole new generation, which had a poetic, maximal, and vintage-meets-fantasy spirit to it, and then there was the Sabato de Sarno era, who changed the entire Alessandro Michelle spirit, and went for a more minimalistic and polished yet very sensual aura. So, Demna has the entire playground to himself and there is no restriction to his creativity, but Gucci x Demna will only succeed if he moves on from his Vetement Balenciaga era. 
Demna’s last show at balenciaga might be a foreshadow to what he might do in Gucci. Even though it wasn't different enough, there were still slight changes seen in the show. In the past there was more visual impact, there were tunnels and graffiti, etc. while the last show was simple and sophisticated with black curtains, it just felt like a “get me outta here” show.

Demna is going from a single digit billion dollar business to a double digit billion dollar business. Gucci is a 4 times bigger business and has to appeal to a larger audience. And, the reason Michele’s Gucci worked so well is that there was something for everybody to wear. That set the bar higher for Sabato, and he failed. Hence, Demna will also have to create a more inclusive space and clearly Demna’s work at balenciaga wasn't inclusive at all. 

The fall’s fashion month is going to be the biggest fashion month ever, there is Mathieu Blaisy’s debut at Chanel, a debut of a new designer at Dior (probably Jonathan Aderson), Louise Trotter for Bottega Veneta, Dario Vitali starting at Versace, and Demna’s new Gucci. The spring/summer ‘26 shows will really be a season to remember. 
Now, who goes to balenciaga? There are speculations that say it is Riccardo Tisci, because he wiped out his instagram page recently, but it just might be the industry's love for gossip and misinformation. 

Stay tuned for more fashion news!