Lauren Sherman & Sarah Shapiro from puck.news are suggesting that new creative director will be announced as soon as at the end of PFW and it is a choice between Hedi Slimane and Dario Vitale. After this SdS disaster I'm betting on Slimane but you never know with Kering...
The Gucci Guessing Game
March 4, 2025
The Gucci guessing game: You have to hand it to Gucci. This past week, mere
days after
Sabato De Sarno’s exit was announced, the brand managed to stage an inoffensive runway show, dress what felt like dozens of A-listers for the Oscars and afterparties, and
also sponsor the
Guy Oseary party, where brand ambassador
Julia Garner was photographed hanging with co-host
Madonna, whom she is slated to play in an upcoming biopic. Pretty much every winner showed up;
Lil Wayne performed. All this was happening as speculation intensified in Europe around who might be the next Gucci designer.
Interestingly, very,
very few people know what’s happening, despite the fact that the announcement is expected to arrive soon—maybe even by the end of Paris Fashion Week. I was told by one trusted industry source to buy Kering stock because it’s going to be a sure-bet designer—such as
Hedi Slimane—but others keep pointing to lesser-known, yet still formidable candidates.
Dario Vitale keeps coming up, despite his conversations with Versace. One thing to remember is that no Gucci designer has ever been a
name before they started at Gucci, so a known entity would be a departure from that. Anyway, as my partner
Bill Cohan likes to say, this is not investment advice.
Whatever happens, it’s clear that C.E.O.
Stefano Cantino and Kering deputy C.E.O.
Francesca Bellettini began their partnership with a plan, and they’ve executed this transition without
any of the leaks that have plagued the rest of the industry. To wit: As loyal readers know, I’ve been writing about
Jonathan Anderson’s move to Dior for months, and yet LVMH has still not announced it. The Gucci tandem moved off De Sarno quickly, before further damage could be wrought, and they’ve kept his presumptive settlement negotiations quiet, too. Apparently, they’ve decided that they are going to do everything in their power to make this as painless and straight-shooting as possible for the markets, employees, and fashion industry observers alike.
PUCK NEWS
