Demna Gvasalia - Designer, Creative Director of Gucci

[tourbillions]

Demna is an incredibly talented designer, much more than some of his stuff at Balenciaga would let us believe I think he will be intelligent enough to do something that will work at Gucci. I'm only doubtful in his ability to be sensual, and sexy, which I think is key to Gucci's success to some extent. Alessandro wasn't sexy but it was opulent and baroque. Demna's Balenciaga which I loved until about 3/4 through was conceptual and cold and often cynical. We'll see.

In what reality will someone sooo talented choose to push out collections like that instead of proper couture-level propositions?

Not like Balenciaga doesnt have the budget.

 

[fashionisnotfunanymore]

I was never a fan of Frida's Gucci. Not the way I dress, not the way I wanna be dressed. Up or down. But reading some comments/posts here, it seems her work was absolutely horrific or tedious to die. Don't think so. It was just not my thing but I can't say it was bad. Why didn't those losers at Kering hire Pilati by the way ? He is still 'available' or am I really living in some sort of a cave? Would have made some more sense than Demna. Would have brought more fun while keep it hi-class.

Uh oh… be careful, praising women designers on tFS these days is a provocative move. Godspeed. They just get jobs because of their ovaries and uteruses, dontcha know?

Frida was a fabulous designer (didn't say she was great). She succeeded earlier, but the lucrative target group was shifting intergenerationally to Gen Z, which later AM was able to capitalize on because he was at the right place at the right time.

 

[penny609]

Frida was a fabulous designer (didn't say she was great). She succeeded earlier, but the lucrative target group was shifting intergenerationally to Gen Z, which later AM was able to capitalize on because he was at the right place at the right time.

She sort of was. I guess she still is. Some kind of a fab designer. Again, her work was just not for me but I recognize she handled well what she was doing. She was good at what she was good at.

Still, it strikes me as some sort of a funny thing when people talk about Gen Z. As if it was a bad thing or so. (I don't say you meant this at all, it's just something I often see/read/hear, here and there, just feeling too many people think of an entire generation as a bunch of soul-less morons... Strange). It just makes me think about how bad some people of my own generation are ageing.

 

[fashionisnotfunanymore]

She sort of was. I guess she still is. Some kind of a fab designer. Again, her work was just not for me but I recognize she handled well what she was doing. She was good at what she was good at.

Still, it strikes me as some sort of a funny thing when people talk about Gen Z. As if it was a bad thing or so. (I don't say you meant this at all, it's just something I often see/read/hear, here and there, just feeling too many people think of an entire generation as a bunch of soul-less morons... Strange). It just makes me think about how bad some people of my own generation are ageing.

We might be aging, but they have no idea how good of time we had. By contrast, I pity those who come after us. It baffles me how Balenciaga became relevant again with those obscene sneakers and how Demna kept his job after those exploitative ads. The latter statement might contradict my admiration for Tom's Gucci ad with the shaved G, but it was done so tastefully and did not harm anyone.

Overall, I viewed most current designers as wannabes of people they very much want to disrespect.

 

[penny609]

We might be aging, but they have no idea how good of time we had. By contrast, I pity those who come after us. It baffles me how Balenciaga became relevant again with those obscene sneakers and how Demna kept his job after those exploitative ads. The latter statement might contradict my admiration for Tom's Gucci ad with the shaved G, but it was done so tastefully and did not harm anyone.

Overall, I viewed most current designers as wannabes of people they very much want to disrespect.

Yes, indeed we lived a few things that seem nicer than most happening right now. I can even recall my late father asking himself how "people can still feel allowed to give birth to children in a world like nowadays". Though, everything hasn't turned that bad, even if it's getting seriously worrying on many fronts, in several places...

And no, I don't see any contradiction between the fact one may love Tom Ford's Gucci stuff and utterly dislike (the word might be weaker than my thoughts) those Demna craps. There seems to be a whole world in between to me. And as you said : TF's Gucci shaved G didn't hurt much other than blatant puritans.

Third point : yes, a lot of today's designers are just wannabes. Wannabe what - I don't even know or understand. They don't even have a single inch of Franco Moschino's wicked and twisted ideas, they don't own a tad of Pilati's class. They want us to believe they're the new version of Margiela but forgot to hide away. And, most obnoxious of it all : they try so hard to remain the talk of the town the day after the party's over. Kinda pathetic.

 

[LadyJunon]

We might be aging, but they have no idea how good of time we had. By contrast, I pity those who come after us. It baffles me how Balenciaga became relevant again with those obscene sneakers and how Demna kept his job after those exploitative ads. The latter statement might contradict my admiration for Tom's Gucci ad with the shaved G, but it was done so tastefully and did not harm anyone.

Overall, I viewed most current designers as wannabes of people they very much want to disrespect.

Yes, indeed we lived a few things that seem nicer than most happening right now. I can even recall my late father asking himself how "people can still feel allowed to give birth to children in a world like nowadays". Though, everything hasn't turned that bad, even if it's getting seriously worrying on many fronts, in several places...

And no, I don't see any contradiction between the fact one may love Tom Ford's Gucci stuff and utterly dislike (the word might be weaker than my thoughts) those Demna craps. There seems to be a whole world in between to me. And as you said : TF's Gucci shaved G didn't hurt much other than blatant puritans.

Third point : yes, a lot of today's designers are just wannabes. Wannabe what - I don't even know or understand. They don't even have a single inch of Franco Moschino's wicked and twisted ideas, they don't own a tad of Pilati's class. They want us to believe they're the new version of Margiela but forgot to hide away. And, most obnoxious of it all : they try so hard to remain the talk of the town the day after the party's over. Kinda pathetic.

Honestly, I think that it's a mix of an extremely insular POV mixed with an awfully large ego and a lack of any sort of nuance.

They want to be Tom Ford, but they lack any concept of emotional intimacy. They want to be Margiela, but they're unable to see the joy and romance in the everyman. They want to be Miuccia, but they don't have a drop of humour or wit. They can't even dare to approach the likes of Dries, because developping such of worldview requires looking beyond A24 movies.

They make all of these allegories, but they never hit, because they seem to shed any sort of humanity whenever they do so. It's tiring.

 

[penny609]

Honestly, I think that it's a mix of an extremely insular POV mixed with an awfully large ego and a lack of any sort of nuance.

They want to be Tom Ford, but they lack any concept of emotional intimacy. They want to be Margiela, but they're unable to see the joy and romance in the everyman. They want to be Miuccia, but they don't have a drop of humour or wit. They can't even dare to approach the likes of Dries, because developping such of worldview requires looking beyond A24 movies.

They make all of these allegories, but they never hit, because they seem to shed any sort of humanity whenever they do so. It's tiring.

I think I can agree with every point you made, with every word and even every comma. Just summed up so perfectly.

 

[Alquimista]

Honestly, I think that it's a mix of an extremely insular POV mixed with an awfully large ego and a lack of any sort of nuance.

They want to be Tom Ford, but they lack any concept of emotional intimacy. They want to be Margiela, but they're unable to see the joy and romance in the everyman. They want to be Miuccia, but they don't have a drop of humour or wit. They can't even dare to approach the likes of Dries, because developping such of worldview requires looking beyond A24 movies.

They make all of these allegories, but they never hit, because they seem to shed any sort of humanity whenever they do so. It's tiring.

Demna takes the surfaces but leaves all the joy and spirit out. He's unable to access that.

 

[VogueDisciple93]

He is now getting a €48 million pay package annually for Gucci, allegedly.

They must really see something the rest of are missing…

 

[kingtheyskens]

He is now getting a €48 million pay package annually for Gucci, allegedly.

according to who?

 

[Olaffo]

He is now getting a €48 million pay package annually for Gucci, allegedly.

Lagerfeld was getting less than that with Chanel, Fendi and his other gigs combined so there’s no chance Demna is at this pay scale. If they’re giving him EUR 10 million / year full package then they’re generous. Let’s all get back to Earth…

 

[Kanzai]

Ain't no way that greedy and stingy Kering gives him that luxury.

 

[Salvatore]

He is now getting a €48 million pay package annually for Gucci, allegedly.

They must really see something the rest of are missing…

There's no way !

 

[FashionPower]

He is now getting a €48 million pay package annually for Gucci, allegedly.

They must really see something the rest of are missing…

You forgot the comma, it's 4,8mil at best LOL

 

[proseccotabis]

He is now getting a €48 million pay package annually for Gucci, allegedly.

They must really see something the rest of are missing…

I would believe it with LVMH, but not with Kering and not in the situation they are in right now that’s for sure

 

[Lola701]

He is now getting a €48 million pay package annually for Gucci, allegedly.

They must really see something the rest of are missing…

Come on. Not even Pinault can pay himself that kind of salary without receiving a backlash. And KERING is a French company. At best he is getting a 5/6 annually pay at Gucci. Of course without advantages that can make the pay worth more. And given how low the stocks are I hope he bought plenty of them so he can sell them during brighter days.

If he is clever, and has a good lawyer, he can have 5/6 M annually feels like the double.

Lagerfeld was getting less than that with Chanel, Fendi and his other gigs combined so there’s no chance Demna is at this pay scale. If they’re giving him EUR 10 million / year full package then they’re generous. Let’s all get back to Earth…

Exactly and Chanel isn’t a « French » company and he got a lot of advantages. At best he got 30/35 annually between Chanel, Fendi his own brand (where he received royalties) and the side gigs he did with Coca Cola or whatever. And that’s towards the end of his life.

Salaries in Europe are totally different from the ones in the US.

 

[yslforever]

He is now getting a €48 million pay package annually for Gucci, allegedly.

They must really see something the rest of are missing…

I do believe it because I stumbled upon FB's base salary @ Kering once and I do believe that's a annual package with stock options, capped at €48, IF (and that's the big IF) the stock price reaches a certain threeshold. .

Why do you think they (all the biggest brands) are trading their goods through Luxembourg, Ticino (Switzerland), or Curacao ?
The goods produced in Italy are invoiced at production cost to a Luxemburg, Ticino or a Carribean subsidiary when they are shipped to Asia or America, it's easy then to pay back the designers and exec from those off-shores companies.
Kering got caught for that, Dolce & Gabbana, Armani too, for similar pattern.

And indeed Karl received this kind of money, but was famously bad with it (or good at spending it).

 

[VogueDisciple93]

according to who?

That I cannot share (I felt the eye-roll, I asked for it lol), but I only post “intel” here if it’s from my own witnessing or from someone close. My “sources” are always people I know, trust, and would be in position to know the information they share, I never post from online sources - not bashing that as a source, I just have 0 social media accounts and engagement so I don’t see what goes on there.

This could be false, which is why I added allegedly because not something I can confirm but came from someone I trust 😉.

Along with sharing that figure, it was said “they more than doubled his salary [from Balenciaga].”

 

[PPPT]

I wonder who has the highest salary among creative directors these days—Hedi ? MGC?

 

[Lola701]

I wonder who has the highest salary among creative directors these days—Hedi ? MGC?

Nicolas. And I’m sure JWA is going to be paid way more than MGC or Kim Jones.

It’s much more about the status of the designer than the position.

I have heard that the Mayhoola people pays well!