Sabato De Sarno - Designer, Creative Director of Gucci

[Deleted member 7575]

Ancora is actually pretty iconic now.

In a good way though?

 

[JeanAvril]

It's crazy how I could hear his voice and be like: yeah, that's Sabato's husband lol. You have to be the 3 Cs to tolerate somebody like that.

It's very unfortunate that he can't match his personal with the fashion. There is no jet-set, joie de vivre type aura going on here, which is the core of the brand. It's so stale. And it really blows me because Tom really laid the plan out 20 years ago but nobody picked it up.

 

[tricotineacetat]

It clearly reads as a desperate move from Gucci to publically promote their creative director after his collections so far proved not to be the antidote for the slow-down of growth they went through towards the end of Alessandro Michele's tenure - In fact, resulting in a decrease of revenue.

It serves them right not only to put up such ambitioned growth expectations but to entrust it with a designer who never helmed a house, let alone one of this size, on his own - And by that, has a proven track record of success to cash in from.

I am gleefully looking forward for his brief moment to be over and the industry hopefully to learn not to put these jobs too lightly in the hands of somebody unknown in the 2nd row. The fact that Peter Copping got Lanvin is a bit of an assuring hint we might be moving back towards that.

 

[donyan]

He seems like a nice guy tbh but I did laugh at the ‘he’s hot’ comment. Did he watch the film before it came out?

 

[Deleted member 7575]

It clearly reads as a desperate move from Gucci to publically promote their creative director after his collections so far proved not to be the antidote for the slow-down of growth they went through towards the end of Alessandro Michele's tenure - In fact, resulting in a decrease of revenue.

It serves them right not only to put up such ambitioned growth expectations but to entrust it with a designer who never helmed a house, let alone one of this size, on his own - And by that, has a proven track record of success to cash in from.

I am gleefully looking forward for his brief moment to be over and the industry hopefully to learn not to put these jobs too lightly in the hands of somebody unknown in the 2nd row. The fact that Peter Copping got Lanvin is a bit of an assuring hint we might be moving back towards that.

I don't think there's anything wrong with headhunting design directors, there are a lot more of them than there are established creative directors, and a lot of them have all the necessary experience and skill sets to go the next level. In fact, it doesn't really make a lot of sense NOT to start your search there.

But what baffles me is that that Sabato had to do a project to get the job so Gucci's management knew exactly what they were getting.

And he was hired as one component of a pre-established strategy.

They should have clearly seen, just as we all do, that he was not the right person for the job. I see Ancora's failure as the fault of Gucci's management.

 

[Deleted member 7575]

He seems like a nice guy tbh but I did laugh at the ‘he’s hot’ comment. Did he watch the film before it came out?

Surely he did and that's what makes it worse.

 

[PDFSD]

All i have to say is don't be fooled by humble designers on camera or in interviews, if one is so shy they would be like Alaia or Margiela &Co
Selling relatability works as much for influencers as creative directors or pop stars etc

 

[Lola701]

All i have to say is don't be fooled by humble designers on camera or in interviews, if one is so shy they would be like Alaia or Margiela &Co
Selling relatability works as much for influencers as creative directors or pop stars etc

Amen!
Exactly!
Even someone like Azzedine had a huge ego and a high view of himself. But he had the body of work and influence to back it up.

Fake humility is annoying btw lol

 

[Creative]

It serves them right not only to put up such ambitioned growth expectations but to entrust it with a designer who never helmed a house, let alone one of this size, on his own - And by that, has a proven track record of success to cash in from.

I am gleefully looking forward for his brief moment to be over and the industry hopefully to learn not to put these jobs too lightly in the hands of somebody unknown in the 2nd row. The fact that Peter Copping got Lanvin is a bit of an assuring hint we might be moving back towards that.

That’s so… absurd.

Every big designer had a “never helmed a house before” experience.

This is also a huge problem with HR. People are just so basic and short-sighted, omg.

 

[tricotineacetat]

Gucci and the task linked to it is one of huge ambition so it seems only fit to me that the designer appointed for it be somebody with a proven track record to ensure such a lofty revenue growth is indeed achieved - Vuitton went with Nicolas Ghesquiere and YSL with Slimane. Maria Grazia Chiuri did Valentino first while Raf Simons did Jil Sander to critical acclaim before each of them became creative directors of womenswear for Dior.

One could say that Alessandro Michele was an unknown talent himself when he took over from Frida Giannini but he was already in Gucci's accessories design team for many years and the house was in a different place than it is right now - He understood the house and it's inner workings, that's why he could put out a first collection as soon as that.

Sabato de Sarno might be an okay designer but I feel his first job as creative director should have been maybe at a smaller house like Ferragamo, Givenchy or Kenzo and not a house the size as Gucci.

 

[Deleted member 7575]

Gucci and the task linked to it is one of huge ambition so it seems only fit to me that the designer appointed for it be somebody with a proven track record to ensure such a lofty revenue growth is indeed achieved - Vuitton went with Nicolas Ghesquiere and YSL with Slimane. Maria Grazia Chiuri did Valentino first while Raf Simons did Jil Sander to critical acclaim before each of them became creative directors of womenswear for Dior.

One could say that Alessandro Michele was an unknown talent himself when he took over from Frida Giannini but he was already in Gucci's accessories design team for many years and the house was in a different place than it is right now - He understood the house and it's inner workings, that's why he could put out a first collection as soon as that.

Sabato de Sarno might be an okay designer but I feel his first job as creative director should have been maybe at a smaller house like Ferragamo, Givenchy or Kenzo and not a house the size as Gucci.

I don't think experience is his problem.

I think he's just really f*cking corny and doesn't instinctively know what's cool. Working somewhere with lower stakes won't really change that.

I had faith in Gucci's management when his hiring was announced. You assume these guys know what they're doing, right? You assume they thoroughly vetted him before they offered him the job.

What you say seems so obvious but clearly it's not. Again, I think the big issue is with the people who hired him.

 

[Olaffo]

^ couldn’t agreed more ! He had been hired by the team who’s only one responsibility is to screening candidates and reviewing them whether they’d be good fit or not. If Gucci wants to be a powerhouse they need to hire powerhouse with strong pov to make the brand relevant.

I think they only thing could save his *** would be an enormous commercial success which is past the point rn, although I’m not sure which collection and to what extent hit the store.

 

[tricotineacetat]

I don't think experience is his problem.

I think he's just really f*cking corny and doesn't instinctively know what's cool. Working somewhere with lower stakes won't really change that.

I had faith in Gucci's management when his hiring was announced. You assume these guys know what they're doing, right? You assume they thoroughly vetted him before they offered him the job.

What you say seems so obvious but clearly it's not. Again, I think the big issue is with the people who hired him.

What's obvious is that you simply don't hand a designer who lacks the track record of commercial success the reigns over a brand that has sky-high expectations of revenue growth as Gucci. Frida Giannini had that, being the head of leather goods prior to her nomination, Maria Grazia it, being instrumental in the development of Valentino's best selling shoes and leather goods collections (The category Gucci generates the largest portion of sales from).

Sabato de Sarno might have had a good CV and handed a nice project to Gucci's management but where was the proof he would have the golden touch it would take for Gucci to reach the next level of growth that Alessandro Michele did manage? He may have had the experience working in the studio of well-established luxury houses but that doesn't make one automatically a good creative director, especially when the brand is a juggernaut the size of Gucci.

 

[Creative]

What's obvious is that you simply don't hand a designer who lacks the track record of commercial success the reigns over a brand that has sky-high expectations of revenue growth as Gucci.

Girl, they just did that with Alessandro and it was a huge success, lmao. What are you talking about?

Same for Givenchy with Riccardo, YSL with Pilati, Balenciaga with Ghesquière, MGC and PP at Valentino, Phoebe at Chloé, and a huge etc. In fact, every Gucci designer was unknown before taking over: Tom Ford, Frida, AM, Alessandra... and every time they’ve done better than in the past. So why not giving the opportunity to someone fresh? That’s not the problem. In fact, that’s something I admire from them.

And sometimes having a celebrity designer doesn’t work. Look at Burberry with Tisci and Lee now.

There’s no formula to success in fashion. Period.


And I HATE when people talk about business sizes. Ugh, it’s literally always people who never worked in fashion. Size doesn’t matter. It’s actually easier to work in a big house.

 

[tricotineacetat]

Girl, they just did that with Alessandro and it was a huge success, lmao. What are you talking about?

Same for Givenchy with Riccardo, YSL with Pilati, Balenciaga with Ghesquière, MGC and PP at Valentino, Phoebe at Chloé, and a huge etc. In fact, every Gucci designer was unknown before taking over: Tom Ford, Frida, AM, Alessandra... and every time they’ve done better than in the past. So why not giving the opportunity to someone fresh? That’s not the problem. In fact, that’s something I admire from them.

And sometimes having a celebrity designer doesn’t work. Look at Burberry with Tisci and Lee now.

There’s no formula to success in fashion. Period.


And I HATE when people talk about business sizes. Ugh, it’s literally always people who never worked in fashion. Size doesn’t matter. It’s actually easier to work in a big house.

As I was already mentioning before, it's important to consider the place a company is at when we consider what kind of candidate fits the assignment. The choice of the right designer is one part, and the assignment itself (in Gucci's case, a steep increase in revenue after Alessandro Michele already generated significant growth) another. What we are seeing now at Burberry is a good example for the limited success a more established designer can contribute when the strategy doesn't align with the brand itself.

Alessandra and Frida were head-of-design for womenswear and leather goods respectively at Gucci under Tom Ford, having them take over after a proven contribution to the houses' success and with the intent not to stray too far from the established brand image was a conscious decision, just as much as it was to appoint Kris van Assche and Anthony Vaccarello after Hedi Slimane at Dior Homme and Saint Laurent respectively. Francesca Bellettini once mentioned the importance of creating 'icons' within a designer's tenure and I think we can all identify which ones became such continuous hits in the past 10 years. It's these products which usually become the pillars of lasting success, therefor no CEO will be willing to grant a complete brand overhaul unless the success of these products is all but exploited.

Brands like Givenchy, Loewe or Balenciaga were all operating on a very low revenue level when Tisci, JWA Anderson and Ghesquiere respectively became their creative directors. Gucci itself was well-known to have been an old and dusty name before Tom Ford's arrival. One look at the dependency of Gucci as Kering's strongest generator of revenue for the entire group shows you that installing an outsider from the brand from the 2nd row was a risk taking when the goal for revenue growth was this high - That's what people like Hedi Slimane generated Celine or Saint Laurent, but he was a 1st tier designer already at that time, much like Phoebe Philo is.

 

[PDFSD]

And I HATE when people talk about business sizes. Ugh, it’s literally always people who never worked in fashion. Size doesn’t matter. It’s actually easier to work in a big house.

Agree on various points with tricotineacetat & you regarding CD selection for houses etc and for me the truth is a mix of both.​

But what what i wanted to add is that regarding sizes of business it's all relative if it's easier or not because in big brand you can have a less freedom to decide all expects for a brand or parts of it only, but also issues not excluding can be: the power of other departments that have also a say in the execution of the brand output, even when your successful a strong Merchandising director or Ceo/vice president etc or even owners of the brand be meddling in the day to day creativity or also institutional person for the brand that been longer in the company might have more support from other key people in the company than the new CD and can manipulate/direct outcomes as well.

This all can happen at a smaller brand as well having issues besides smaller budgets and less brand power to pull the right strings for factories or values or celebs etc but can be more rewarding in creative freedom.

Like you said there is not one set formula and this goes also for the difficulty of the job at any given brand regardless of the size, that why you have CD´s bring or building their own gang around them in order to have a safety net of loyal people and it not just for creative reasons.

At big brands like LV and Gucci the commercial teams might bring in the money and the CD´s & his show team etc might feel a certain way etc etc or that the merchding director buys and alters collections to meet commercial success this can bring also friction between the CD and management etc etc or a communication director has cerion ideas to push not fully in line with the CD and gets away with it .......

 

[Xone]

So he will leave or not after the september show? I’m curious

All i see is Sabato’s photos with Miley these days…

 

[Xone]

No thanks. If you guys are looking for an interesting documentary about Gucci I would highly recommend The Director. We even see a little Easter egg of Alessandro getting his bags rejected by Frida.

I’ve searched that for years! Do you know where to find it? Thanks!❤️

 

[avonlea002]

I’ve searched that for years! Do you know where to find it? Thanks!❤️

 

[susseinmcswanny]

I don't know who they bought my data from but I am getting their email ads now and they are boring as f*ck. Calling it "elevated casual". Literally looks like the kids at my neighborhood bus stop.