Part of Gucci’s step back is to retrench around what made Gucci great in the first place: it’s Italian leather goods expertise. Ironically, it started to step away from that back in Gucci’s Tom Ford days when the shift from its luxury footing to being a fashion-first brand started.
“It moved from speaking about leather craftmanship – the pedigree Italians are known for– to being about fashion,” shared Philippe Mihailovich, founder of brand consultancy HauteLuxe and co-author of Haute ‘Luxury’ Branding.
“Everyone loved Tom Ford clothing and his design aesthetic. It became a big commercial success, but all of a sudden Gucci became the world of Tom Ford and Gucci became about his fashion,” he continued.
In the early days under previous creative director Alessandro Michelle, Mihailovich saw signs of a return to the brand’s Italian roots – “He brought a cultural reference to and reverence for the Italian Renaissance.” But then he seemed to get sidetracked by venturing too far into pop culture.
“Instead of the designer being the guide and interpreter for the world of the brand, the designer became almost bigger than the brand. It no longer looked like a serious luxury brand; it lost its essence,” he continued.
Enter Sabato De Sarno, who had been a luxury journeyman with Prada, Dolce & Gabbana and Valentino before stepping into the design director’s position at Gucci.
“I’m very excited about Sabato. He is into the details, knows about quality and understands a luxury brand is about timelessness. He has the ability to pull the brand back upwards again,” Mihailovich said.