Discussion: Who Should Be The Creative Director of Gucci?

[proseccotabis]

Bellettini (Kering): "Per Gucci presto nuovo direttore creativo'"

Shares in Gucci owner Kering rise on turnaround hopes

About time Francesca!!!

 

[PDFSD]

Bellettini (Kering): "Per Gucci presto nuovo direttore creativo'"

Shares in Gucci owner Kering rise on turnaround hopes

From the new creative director we can expect "a great ability to make people dream, to transmit passion, to demonstrate talent and make the brand desirable, based on an extremely solid foundation that we have built in the last 18 months".

sounds weak already i am afraid .......a great ability is giving some on like kim jones vibes lol


Pinault said the design change would not slow the brand's turnaround, while deputy CEO Francesca Bellettini said a new designer would be announced promptly, "sooner rather than later".

maybe the days after the upcoming show to keep the gucci name in press positively while fashion week is on going.

 

[PDFSD]

About time Francesca!!!

to me she is like Marco got lucky with Alessandro and since then has a halo of competence, her case was the Hedi school adopted the blue print boy Vaccarello

 

[proseccotabis]

to me she is like Marco got lucky with Alessandro and since then has a halo of competence, her case was the Hedi school adopted the blue print boy Vaccarello

Marco was definitely better than Cantino at least who’s savage as a boss
But after the results today and the somber mood regarding that today I am so nostalgic about the Marco Alessandro tandem lol bring Michele back!

 

[PDFSD]

Marco was definitely better than Cantino at least who’s savage as a boss
But after the results today and the somber mood regarding that today I am so nostalgic about the Marco Alessandro tandem lol bring Michele back!

Cantino just started its his first real big job as Ceo it's too early to compare with Marco Alessandro success .....we will see who they picked and then we can start the comparison.

both have a reputation Cantino is not a wallflower he his ruthless in his pursuit for success and control ask people at Prada or LV.

Michele is having not a smooth start at Valentino lets not forget it he is stubborn & loyal to his own indulges of vintage maximalism extravaganza.

 

[WAVES]

No.

care to elaborate or was that your ‘one cent’?

 

[PDFSD]

www.susannanicoletti.com
Author and Columnist|Fashion and Luxury Higher Education Director
A reality check…
- Slimane sued twice Kering for Saint Laurent and he won but the battle was harsh
- Slimane never got along with Francesca Bellettini, his boss at YSL. She was in charge when they exited him
- Stefano Cantino has not the standing to manage such an unruly designer. Only Arnault was able to do it and when they were working together, BA fired Hedi. I was there. In the Advertising Department.
- Slimane style is Slimane so once again another disruption at Gucci. The brand cannot stand it, it’s too weak fighting for its survival, which is very uncertain

- Why firing De Sarno now? To give him all the responsibility for the 2024 disaster when the results will be disclosed of Feb 11th.

 

[proseccotabis]

www.susannanicoletti.com
Author and Columnist|Fashion and Luxury Higher Education Director
A reality check…
- Slimane sued twice Kering for Saint Laurent and he won but the battle was harsh
- Slimane never got along with Francesca Bellettini, his boss at YSL. She was in charge when they exited him
- Stefano Cantino has not the standing to manage such an unruly designer. Only Arnault was able to do it and when they were working together, BA fired Hedi. I was there. In the Advertising Department.
- Slimane style is Slimane so once again another disruption at Gucci. The brand cannot stand it, it’s too weak fighting for its survival, which is very uncertain

- Why firing De Sarno now? To give him all the responsibility for the 2024 disaster when the results will be disclosed of Feb 11th.

this Nicoletti person has a corporate background?! I thought she was a love child of blue square, green square and miss tweedy oh wow

Lol cantino can’t manage slimane? He’s met more difficult people than that, he survived the prada school after on

 

[PDFSD]

this Nicoletti person has a corporate background?! I thought she was a love child of blue square, green square and miss tweedy oh wow

Lol cantino can’t manage slimane? He’s met more difficult people than that, he survived the prada school after on

yes she worked at prada kering lvmh ferragamo she contributes to forbes well etc etc you can see on her website and linkedin

but at prada he was under bertelli and miuccia so he had to follow even if his boyfriend was fabio also having lots of influence and power its different if he hired hedi he would be his boss and wanting Hedi success to be replicated under leadership of Gucci
but Hedi has a bigger success track record then Cantino like it or not.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/pamdanziger/2025/02/07/gucci-readies-for-a-reset-as-creative-director-de-sarno-exits/

​

Restoring Gucci’s Legacy​

Luxury industry analyst and founder of the SUN DeLuxe newsletter Susanna Nicoletti observed that Gucci’s real problem began when Michele was given too much free rein. He disrupted the natural order of a luxury brand with a rich legacy like Gucci, which goes back more than a century to when Guccio Gucci opened his first leather goods shop in Florence.

“That chapter took Gucci to a totally different universe, alienating loyal legacy customers and creating weak links with the new ones who got bored with the maximalist looks,” she said.

Perhaps after getting so off track, it was too much to ask for any designer no matter how talented to pull the brand back into its proper lane.

“De Sarno was pointless for this already disrupted brand,” she pointedly said. “Gucci was in trouble before hiring De Sarno and is in a nosediving chapter that is deeply hurting the business, loyal employees and suppliers, as well as the brand equity.”

Managing Expectations​

Going forward, Gucci CEO Cantino and Bellettini, overseeing Kering brand development function, must be the leaders to bring the brand back to greatness. In hiring a new creative director, they can’t put brand building responsibility into the director’s hands.

Rather, they must take the lead in brand management with the creative director following their direction, not giving it, to create the fashion that meets their vision for the Gucci brand. (does not sound Hedi approved here lol )

“Fashion brands like Gucci continue to make the same mistake in a loop: delegating the brand management role to creative directors represented by designers with a pure specific design background. They are very often technicians with no idea of how to develop a brand; they rarely have knowledge or natural aptitude in brand building.”

In their joint decision to cut ties with De Sarno, Cantino and Bellettini are showing the resolute leadership the brand needs at this time. Let’s hope they make the right decision and find a new creative director who will follow their lead.

 

[Scotty]

“That chapter took Gucci to a totally different universe, alienating loyal legacy customers and creating weak links with the new ones who got bored with the maximalist looks,” she said.

“De Sarno was pointless for this already disrupted brand,” she pointedly said. “Gucci was in trouble before hiring De Sarno and is in a nosediving chapter that is deeply hurting the business, loyal employees and suppliers, as well as the brand equity.”

Damn... that's a harsh read. Not pointless!!

 

[reese06]

Gucci getting back on track means they really need to define what that track is. But desperation usually leads to poor decisions.I actually loved Gucci, from Tom to Frida (Frida was my first Gucci purchase), to Michele. It's a shame to see the brand like this but on the other side the conglomerates have tainted both fashion and luxury.

I decided to browse the site and it pissed me off.

$2900 USD for this men's technical mesh polo.

• Fabric: 82% Polyamide, 18% Elastane.

 

[fruitdots]

yes she worked at prada kering lvmh ferragamo she contributes to forbes well etc etc you can see on her website and linkedin

but at prada he was under bertelli and miuccia so he had to follow even if his boyfriend was fabio also having lots of influence and power its different if he hired hedi he would be his boss and wanting Hedi success to be replicated under leadership of Gucci
but Hedi has a bigger success track record then Cantino like it or not.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/pamdanziger/2025/02/07/gucci-readies-for-a-reset-as-creative-director-de-sarno-exits/

​

Restoring Gucci’s Legacy​

Luxury industry analyst and founder of the SUN DeLuxe newsletter Susanna Nicoletti observed that Gucci’s real problem began when Michele was given too much free rein. He disrupted the natural order of a luxury brand with a rich legacy like Gucci, which goes back more than a century to when Guccio Gucci opened his first leather goods shop in Florence.

“That chapter took Gucci to a totally different universe, alienating loyal legacy customers and creating weak links with the new ones who got bored with the maximalist looks,” she said.

Perhaps after getting so off track, it was too much to ask for any designer no matter how talented to pull the brand back into its proper lane.

“De Sarno was pointless for this already disrupted brand,” she pointedly said. “Gucci was in trouble before hiring De Sarno and is in a nosediving chapter that is deeply hurting the business, loyal employees and suppliers, as well as the brand equity.”

Managing Expectations​

Going forward, Gucci CEO Cantino and Bellettini, overseeing Kering brand development function, must be the leaders to bring the brand back to greatness. In hiring a new creative director, they can’t put brand building responsibility into the director’s hands.

Rather, they must take the lead in brand management with the creative director following their direction, not giving it, to create the fashion that meets their vision for the Gucci brand. (does not sound Hedi approved here lol )

“Fashion brands like Gucci continue to make the same mistake in a loop: delegating the brand management role to creative directors represented by designers with a pure specific design background. They are very often technicians with no idea of how to develop a brand; they rarely have knowledge or natural aptitude in brand building.”

In their joint decision to cut ties with De Sarno, Cantino and Bellettini are showing the resolute leadership the brand needs at this time. Let’s hope they make the right decision and find a new creative director who will follow their lead.

Pure ideology here—the only reason you'd use a phrase as bizarre as "the natural order of a luxury brand" (what is that supposed to mean?) is if you were trying, as this article does, to pin blame on unrestrained creative directors. Now we're meant to believe there's a great chain of being, in which creative directors naturally follow the wisdom of CEOs. Like him or not, Alessandro Michele revived a stagnant, mismanaged brand, not one that was peacefully regulated by some sort of "natural order." Are they mistaking the doldrums of the Frida Giannini era for a golden age? And did Tom Ford's radical hedonism not alienate the "loyal legacy customers" of his time? It's all absurd, ahistorical nonsense.

 

[Monsieur Cristobal]

care to elaborate or was that your ‘one cent’?

No designer that left Kering in bad terms has ever returned...

 

[Frederic01]

Rather, they must take the lead in brand management with the creative director following their direction, not giving it, to create the fashion that meets their vision for the Gucci brand. (does not sound Hedi approved here lol )

“Fashion brands like Gucci continue to make the same mistake in a loop: delegating the brand management role to creative directors represented by designers with a pure specific design background. They are very often technicians with no idea of how to develop a brand; they rarely have knowledge or natural aptitude in brand building.”

But isn't this exactly what happened at Gucci with Sabato and exactly why it failed? Sabato took a very hands-off approach, focusing only on the collections, and left the marketing, campaigns, and "brand management" to everyone else, which therefore caused the brand values and vision to be diluted, chaotic, and confusing for customers and therefore directly impacted revenues?

The whole reason why Alessandro succeeded at Gucci was his 360 degree approach to the brand. It was consistent from top to bottom. People like Belletini and Cantino can only do damage to Gucci if this will be their approach. They want to make everything so bland and generic and ruin what makes Gucci unique.

Let's not forget that Saint Laurent is a much smaller brand than Gucci, and doesn't really make an impact on the fashion and/or cultural landscape further than the fashion epicentres. Which is precisely why I must ask the question, why Francesca Belletini? What exactly has she done in terms of "brand management" that has been visionary? All of Saint Laurent's success comes from the respective visions of Hedi and Anthony.

These people talk a lot of talk in the media and at these shareholder meetings, but at the end of the day, what did they even do to ensure positive changes?

 

[WAVES]

No designer that left Kering in bad terms has ever returned...

that’s very true I completely forgot that he was at Kerings’s YSL aka SL!
thank you.

 

[Xone]

Gucci needs a versatile CD but also who understand business and image...AM only did what he knows and he did it well, but he wasn't incapable to adapt or compromise on some things, that's why he was fired. It is not being a puppet but you need to evolve, not being stuck and certainly not be so egomaniac. Also if you are stuck on what a CD used to be then you are doomed.

Ancora maybe was ok in the design team,was never had a vision and also failed to adapt. Instead of turnaround thing when the first collection was poorly received,he insisted. also add a poor image, product and mkt campaign. plus a terrible brand management..well, there you go Gucci is sinking.

Probably Ancora won't be at the front of a big house again but now he got big money and it was the best of luck eh received. He couldn't care less of Gucci now but management now have to deal with the embarrassment that is the brand now.

The FW25 will have pieces from Ancora for sure, with a little changes and another styling, i think it will be poorly received as well. So zero expectations for that.

 

[Xone]

 

[Xone]

Francesca Bellettini:

"Alessandro's style was extremely maximalist, while Sabato De Sarno's aesthetic approach is less extravagant and maximalist, but it allowed us to do exactly what we intended to do."

Sinking deeper? lol

"We have focused on the heritage of the brand, trying to elevate our products, making them consistent with Gucci's heritage, but at the same time relevant to the present. Without a doubt, the foundation on which we operate today is much more solid than it was 18 months or two years ago. Now is the perfect time to inject new creativity, fashion and desirability, because we believe that this is what Gucci needs to recreate that unique dualism that characterizes the brand, where tradition and fashion must always coexist".

this woman is delusional...pure bs

"over the last 18 months we have focused more on tradition, improving the quality of the products and launching new collections, even for the entry level, but always at the appropriate quality level. We are now in an excellent position to introduce more creativity and fashion-forwardness, while maintaining what we have built in the last 18 months".

No comments....hahaha

 

[Frederic01]

if this is what brand “elevation” looks like in Belletini’s eyes, then my goodness, I have no words…


GUCCI

 

[Xone]

if this is what brand “elevation” looks like in Belletini’s eyes, then my goodness, I have no words…


GUCCI

Please leave Kendall in the mountain and come back to the city asap!..lol

Terrible...it show a brand who is clueless and lost, there is no strategy...and on every thing they have been doing that's the same feeling...and customers smells that