Gucci F/W 2024.25 Milan

[Frederic01]

I’m not sure if you’re aware, but Sabato’s designs from last September only just dropped in stores this month. No one knows yet if they are a flop or a hit, commercially. Are you musing about the CD-less Gucci sales data from 2023?

It's pretty obvious from the outset of a collection what is going to be a commercial hit and what isn't. De Sarno does not have a commercial eye in the way that Alessandro Michele or Frida Giannini did in regards to accessories, it's clear as day. And like it or not, that is what will make or break a designer at a house like Gucci.

Add to that the lukewarm reception that his debut collection received and the numerous articles and pieces that mentioned the lack of direction and uniqueness about his vision. Well its pretty clear his things won't sell as well as Alessandro's. The momentum with Michele's first collection was there.

De Sarno is just too bland and corporate to be an Artistic Director. Literally nothing he has done in the last six months has been interesting or dynamic or unique. Even Maximilian Davis, arguably a much more amateur design in comparison, has established some kind of vision for Ferragamo.

You'll see, Gucci will keep raising the prices to compensate for the lack of sales and to protect their profit margins, all whilst writing it off as "a brand elevation strategy" LOL.

 

[Lola701]

Frida had like 2-3 hit collections but the VAST majority of her shows were terrible and lack lustre and that hideous "Frida" pant she kept pushing ie the jodhpurs with the loose crotch were godawful.

Those pants! I’m still traumatized!

 

[upNorth]

Colour palette is Chanel by Virginie Viard vibes, equally as uninspiring.

 

[tricotineacetat]

What an arrogance for Kering to think they can make such ambitious growth for Gucci happen without investing heavily in creative talent that can rightfully position the brand as a leader. When the bar is set so high, you would normally guess hiring a creative leader with proven track record would be in order - Here we see how that backfires when you give it instead to somebody who is better reserved as a second-in-chief - The results are nowhere better than what anonymous design teams would have come up with in the interim between creative directors 10 years ago.

 

[yslforever]

What an arrogance for Kering to think they can make such ambitious growth for Gucci happen without investing heavily in creative talent that can rightfully position the brand as a leader. When the bar is set so high, you would normally guess hiring a creative leader with proven track record would be in order - Here we see how that backfires when you give it instead to somebody who is better reserved as a second-in-chief - The results are nowhere better than what anonymous design teams would have come up with in the interim between creative directors 10 years ago.

I liked the interim collection, especially the womens one, better.
De Sarno is someone you hire to transform runway looks into store clothes, not to design the runway looks.

 

[ecnerretneerg]

The only thing worse than this collection is Sabato’s arrogant spirit. He took his bow as if he created the most monumental show of the season—it makes my blood boil lol!!!

 

[NoInvite]

The only thing worse than this collection is Sabato’s arrogant spirit. He took his bow as if he created the most monumental show of the season—it makes my blood boil lol!!!

At Ancora I saved a video of him dancing backstage.

 

[AVC]

It's pretty obvious from the outset of a collection what is going to be a commercial hit and what isn't. De Sarno does not have a commercial eye in the way that Alessandro Michele or Frida Giannini did in regards to accessories, it's clear as day. And like it or not, that is what will make or break a designer at a house like Gucci.

Add to that the lukewarm reception that his debut collection received and the numerous articles and pieces that mentioned the lack of direction and uniqueness about his vision. Well its pretty clear his things won't sell as well as Alessandro's. The momentum with Michele's first collection was there.

De Sarno is just too bland and corporate to be an Artistic Director. Literally nothing he has done in the last six months has been interesting or dynamic or unique. Even Maximilian Davis, arguably a much more amateur design in comparison, has established some kind of vision for Ferragamo.

You'll see, Gucci will keep raising the prices to compensate for the lack of sales and to protect their profit margins, all whilst writing it off as "a brand elevation strategy" LOL.

We’ll see when the quarter’s results are posted.

I agree that his vision is lacking, and I’m not hot on the collections shown so far. Ferragamo is doing what Gucci SHOULD be doing, and Max’s new show is a testament to that. Beautiful but commercial pieces all around.

In regards to the “elevation” strategy, it’s not just a rise in prices. You’ll notice that Gucci pulled out from pretty much most of their wholesale locations across the US, they’ve put more focus on fine jewelry and watches, the VM strategy also revolves around a reduction of SKUs on display and product pushes are focused on singular styles instead of entire lines of products. It’s not just “let’s raise prices, done”.

 

[Alquimista]

I am not a "hater" of this, nor do I think tfs is hating it for no reason. I'm just confused at how ALL the right elements seem to be here but it has no magic, no desiralibity. The clothes are wearable, the fabrics are delicious, the shapes are right. I can see women buying these clothes but I can't see them dying to buy them. Do they want that billion revenue or not?

Not to mention the disaster - the real disaster imo - that is the creative direction of it. Boring, faceless models, wrong set, wrong music, cheap campaigns.

 

[IsabelMarantBoy]

I'm' holding out little hope that this will ever get better from him, considering he was quoted on the vogue review saying "I don't have a theme - ever, my theme is the clothes".

It feels like we've moved past the age of trends dictating runway fashion and the designers just care about making flat, pretty clothes to parade on a bland runway

 

[Frederic01]

CRINGE. Of course these students are singing your praises, they want a job working at Kering with you, what else? LOL.

When De Sarno started at Gucci nearly seven months ago, he was tasked with a nearly impossible assignment: to steer the brand away from its former creative director’s bold, outsize, magpie aesthetic to something more relatable, more appealing. De Sarno says he cares deeply about dressing real human beings for their very real lives. “I start with people, always,” he says. He is uninterested in making clothes for people to take selfies in (though there are plenty of Instagrammable pieces in the current collection), or in pleasing a small, insular group within the industry whose opinions, ultimately, won’t have any bearing on, say, a woman in the Midwest walking into a Gucci store and falling in love with a perfectly tailored double-breasted jacket.

I tell De Sarno that my mom visited her local Gucci store in Chicago the other day, just to check out some of the changes that have been made. She loved how “sleek” it all looked, from the interiors to the window displays to the bags and the clothes themselves, I say. “To be honest, I care more about the opinion of your mother than I do some of the technical people’s opinions in the industry,” he replies with a smile. “Also, you can’t imagine how many messages I receive from young students or from everyday, normal people who don’t work in fashion, saying how much they appreciate the new collections, how real the pieces feel, and how they went to a store and tried on a coat and they fell in love with it. This, to me, is fashion.”

HARPERSBAZAAR.COM/

 

[GivenchyHomme]

I tell De Sarno that my mom visited her local Gucci store in Chicago the other day, just to check out some of the changes that have been made. She loved how “sleek” it all looked

HARPERSBAZAAR.COM/

Their mother loved it? Is this some kind of backhanded compliment? Is that who they should be pleasing?

 

[lookatme]

He is absolutely so annoying. He’s acting like such a martyr. Like he’s some misunderstood genius. He has such a chip on his shoulder.

You can tell it’s coming from a deeply insecure and defensive place. The reviews clearly got to him.

 

[Nimsay]

sabato sounds like a small little person

 

[jeanclaude]

For a guy named Sabato, he feels like a bad Monday...

 

[KoV]

Their mother loved it? Is this some kind of backhanded compliment? Is that who they should be pleasing?

Why not? Her mother is a well-regarded lawyer with her own law firm. Likely an actual long-term Gucci customer, if she's made a point to visit the store within days of the first pieces from Ancora hitting shelves. Do women above the age of 30 not have spending power?

I feel like I'm defending this man/collection for no reason, but I just find so much of the criticism so annoying. Is he acting like a martyr and misunderstood genius? He talks about being product-focused, which strikes me as totally unpretentious. Not once did he complain. Did we read the same article? "I care about audiences/customers more than critics" is something that people in just about any industry in which creative work is critiqued or a product is sold will echo. If Tim Cook was like "It's so lovely when everyday people tell me they love the iPhone, that means more to me than a good review in Wired" would that be seen as a controversial statement at all? No.

 

[AVC]

Why not? Her mother is a well-regarded lawyer with her own law firm. Likely an actual long-term Gucci customer, if she's made a point to visit the store within days of the first pieces from Ancora hitting shelves. Do women above the age of 30 not have spending power?

I feel like I'm defending this man/collection for no reason, but I just find so much of the criticism so annoying. Is he acting like a martyr and misunderstood genius? He talks about being product-focused, which strikes me as totally unpretentious. Not once did he complain. Did we read the same article? "I care about audiences/customers more than critics" is something that people in just about any industry in which creative work is critiqued or a product is sold will echo. If Tim Cook was like "It's so lovely when everyday people tell me they love the iPhone, that means more to me than a good review in Wired" would that be seen as a controversial statement at all? No.

You’re absolutely right. I feel like a lot of the frequenters on this forum are just very self-important and think their opinions matter in the grand scheme of the fashion world when in reality, no one really cares. For all the trashing of multiple designers collections here, the brands go on unbothered because, once again, none of these posters’ opinions mean a thing.

 

[blueorchid]

You’re absolutely right. I feel like a lot of the frequenters on this forum are just very self-important and think their opinions matter in the grand scheme of the fashion world when in reality, no one really cares. For all the trashing of multiple designers collections here, the brands go on unbothered because, once again, none of these posters’ opinions mean a thing.

I'm pretty sure most of the regulars here realize they're screaming into the wind on a message board with maybe under 100 regular users. If everyone's opinions are so worthless, though, why join yesterday just to tell everyone this? Weird.

 

[AVC]

I'm pretty sure most of the regulars here realize they're screaming into the wind on a message board with maybe under 100 regular users. If everyone's opinions are so worthless, though, why join yesterday just to tell everyone this? Weird.

I’m no better than those I criticize. We all have opinions, no matter how worthless. But seeing some of these comments written almost as fact rather than opinion, it’s hard to refrain from chiming in.

 

[Nimsay]

I agree w the assertation that there are more wearable pieces here. I also think it will sell well if not better than AM purely because its not golden lurex polos with lion heads.

I think it will recapture people polarized by michele but i also think they dont have a wholly convincing proposition. We need a more fleshed out lifestyle. La Donna Gucci having no pants for fall when shes a milanese millionaire is senseless.