Sabato De Sarno - Designer, Creative Director of Gucci

[90sFan]

he only wishes his trainwreck was as big as lindays that ungaro collection was iconic

You’re so right!!!!!

 

[jeanclaude]

I don’t think that’s true - Gucci has been spending TONs on PR, it’s just that it doesn’t seem to be landing. They had a constant rotation of celebrity moments, magazine covers, launches, social media campaigns, etc.

IMO it comes down solely to desirability of the brand, and not the product. Gucci is not desirable right now - and they really need to be doing much more to revise that brand perception. The product will sell if the brand is desirable, no matter how sh*t.

For a brand to be desirable, they have to offer desirable products. Gucci was desirable under Tom Ford, because every single thing he created was desirable.

 

[Lola701]

^^
Very difficult indeed to have a desirable brand without desirable products…
Marketing is the icing on the cake but it’s not all.
But you create a legacy or something strong with the combination of the two.

And desirable has nothing to do with cutting edge or even exciting.

 

[Creative]

I wonder if they ever considered someone outside Gucci for the job. Would love to know. I think they should’ve gone in another direction. I feel like sexy will come back sooner or later and maybe they needed a kind of Tom Ford 2.0 to be the first ones to do sexy again.

The Ancora direction is so pointless and confusing. I feel the red, even if the shade they chose is beautiful, is too much and doesn’t refresh the brand.

The Instagram campaigns don’t cease to pop up and they are driving me crazy and making me hate the brand even more. They are so ugly and not neat. The FOLLOW GUCCI ON INSTAGRAM is just gross and so out of place for a luxury brand.

They should also stop with the logos, do like Dior and not use it for a decade or so. The GG logo as well, it’s screams cheap. Burn it in hell.

Just do the GUCCI, maybe change the font or not even that. Pick good photographers and a pair of models, do exclusivity with them, invest in the shows…

There are so many things they could do and we are in an industry where people forget so easy, so I can’t understand why this brand is in this state. Whoever is taking the decisions is probably a rich kid that graduated in Bocconi or Siences Po with an IQ below 70.

 

[donyan]

^^
Very difficult indeed to have a desirable brand without desirable products…
Marketing is the icing on the cake but it’s not all.
But you create a legacy or something strong with the combination of the two.

And desirable has nothing to do with cutting edge or even exciting.

always spot on @Lola701

 

[90sFan]

Saw the embarrassing short film about Sabato.
EMMBARASSSINNNNNNG!!!!
And he comes off so dumb… what a joke.
Even dumber are people’s quotes about him. The dumbest by Alistair Mckimm who thinks he’s HOT!?!?? The ***-kissing on whole new low.
Cringe festival!!!

 

[Frederic01]

He has a huge opportunity now that Pierpaolo has exited Valentino to really bring in that whole aesthetic and make it successful. I can see this working out for Sabato and Gucci.

On the other side it will also be quite weird to see the two aesthetics reversed and swapped where Gucci will become more "timeless" and "classic" and Valentino will become extremely "trendy", "quirky", "vintage", etc etc.

 

[PDFSD]

He has a huge opportunity now that Pierpaolo has exited Valentino to really bring in that whole aesthetic and make it successful. I can see this working out for Sabato and Gucci.

On the other side it will also be quite weird to see the two aesthetics reversed and swapped where Gucci will become more "timeless" and "classic" and Valentino will become extremely "trendy", "quirky", "vintage", etc etc.

He had a huge opportunity since he got the job :-/...there's a reason Valentino stagnated: no strong acc novelty ....same is happening already with ANCORA no new strong acc offer ( bag & shoes or novelty logo to push a new era as what happend with Alessandro´s marmont gg and fuzzy slipper´s, dyonis bags etc ) also as LV a brand like Gucci needs to sell a dream a story sell Culture first then the product´s as acc make the numbers .....now we have just some product no culture no point of view no dream .......its not holistic at all .......it's not enough to create a universe to want to belong too.

 

[NoInvite]

Key items I’m seeing now being fed to us online.
Women = Jackie and men = horsebit loafer. Wow how exciting!
I can’t blame it all on the guy but I hope he has a team that helps him push the vision forward in each categories.

I don’t know if it’s right to compare but Pharrell’s first LV drop example. So distinctive with the colour damiers. You see it and can distinct it right away it’s something new. That material being used in large speedy to little key holders.

C’mon Sabato despite how much I despise you I’m still rooting for you secretly.

 

[IloveDiorHomme]

BASTA

 

[NoInvite]

Ok, after passing a few retail spaces of Gucci and see no change visually. Today I passed by one of the large flagship in Paris. I for sure see that management doesn’t believe anything in this Ancora collection at all. There was no sign of change in anything, offerings still feels very old and heavy. VM and interior, staff uniforms is still from AM era. It’s already April and this is supposed to be one of their important EU store and I feel that the lack of commitment is not a good sign.

 

[tourbillions]

stores here are still the ugly grandma pink with grandma carpets, soon it will look like valentino stores

 

[Nimsay]

Alls I noticed the other day was the Gucci reps reclining against the counters in their ugly dandy outfits.

 

[BalkaniStaCouture]

Stefano is in talks with a big fast-fashion brand atm...

Spill the tea???

 

[BalkaniStaCouture]

Well I know it will be unpopular opinion but I really like Sarno aesthetics for Gucci. Unlike Michele “Grandma & Granpa Jamaica Couture in a room full of pot with smell of their dogs shed hair everywhere aestetics” I find Sabato’s vision very very sexy, well designed, luxurious and inviting! In Paris Gucci stores are always full. I bought myself few stuff and I really like them. Btw his menswear collection for FW 24/25 was suprisingly good. I need to start to save all the money. And I do like all the campaigns. I respect everybody but I wasn’t Gucci client before and now I definitely am, and a very happy one. So… go Sabato!!!

(hypebeast)

 

[gallianostan]

Well I know it will be unpopular opinion but I really like Sarno aesthetics for Gucci. Unlike Michele “Grandma & Granpa Jamaica Couture in a room full of pot with smell of their dogs shed hair everywhere aestetics” I find Sabato’s vision very very sexy, well designed, luxurious and inviting! In Paris Gucci stores are always full. I bought myself few stuff and I really like them. Btw his menswear collection for FW 24/25 was suprisingly good. I need to start to save all the money. And I do like all the campaigns. I respect everybody but I wasn’t Gucci client before and now I definitely am, and a very happy one. So… go Sabato!!!

(hypebeast)
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there is nothing desirable about this lol

 

[Scotty]

there is nothing desirable about this lol

Neither sexy.

 

[Scotty]

Forget the bags, why would anyone (sane) pay Ancora for their RTW anyway? Especially when you can buy the original and better inspiration from 1stdibs or vintage resellers.

 

[yslforever]

Well I know it will be unpopular opinion but I really like Sarno aesthetics for Gucci. Unlike Michele “Grandma & Granpa Jamaica Couture in a room full of pot with smell of their dogs shed hair everywhere aestetics” I find Sabato’s vision very very sexy, well designed, luxurious and inviting! In Paris Gucci stores are always full. I bought myself few stuff and I really like them. Btw his menswear collection for FW 24/25 was suprisingly good. I need to start to save all the money. And I do like all the campaigns. I respect everybody but I wasn’t Gucci client before and now I definitely am, and a very happy one. So… go Sabato!!!

(hypebeast)
View attachment 1259461View attachment 1259462

Well I know it will be unpopular opinion but I really like Sarno aesthetics for Gucci. Unlike Michele “Grandma & Granpa Jamaica Couture in a room full of pot with smell of their dogs shed hair everywhere aestetics” I find Sabato’s vision very very sexy, well designed, luxurious and inviting! In Paris Gucci stores are always full. I bought myself few stuff and I really like them. Btw his menswear collection for FW 24/25 was suprisingly good. I need to start to save all the money. And I do like all the campaigns. I respect everybody but I wasn’t Gucci client before and now I definitely am, and a very happy one. So… go Sabato!!!

(hypebeast)
View attachment 1259461View attachment 1259462

You should then hurry up and stock some Ancora before it's Finito.

 

[PDFSD]

Fashion Merry-Go-Round Series: 1-More changes at Gucci and Balenciaga

Creative director changes are on the cards at Kering’s Gucci and Balenciaga, and at other brands, Miss Tweed has found out.

misstweed.com

The arrival of Italian designer Alessandro Michele at Valentino, replacing longstanding Pierpaolo Piccioli, as predicted by Miss Tweed on Monday and confirmed on Thursday, is one of many creative tectonic shifts that will take place among major fashion brands over the next few months, industry insiders say.


The downturn in luxury spending in the United States and Europe, coupled with weaker than expected demand in China, is forcing controlling shareholders to take drastic action and hire new talent in the hope that this will help their brands regain luster and traction.


These are tough but necessary decisions in the current economic environment. The post-pandemic boom is well behind us. Interest rates and inflation remain high. Consumers seek value for money and are reluctant to splurge on brands that lack innovation and no longer feel relevant. Hence, creative director changes are on the cards at Kering's Gucci and Balenciaga, and at other brands, Miss Tweed has found out.


Reading this will not please investors, but Kering will probably have to part ways with Sabato De Sarno this autumn if the 40-year-old designer is unable to create excitement around the brand and make its sales rise again by then, industry sources predict. It would take some time for a replacement to make a difference - assuming Kering finds a suitable one - further weakening the group.


Many investors question Kering's growth strategy and find its current governance puzzling. Kering's share price is 40 percent lower than a year ago and less than half its peak in summer 2021. It is the worst performer in the Premier League of listed luxury groups. François Pinault, the 87-year-old father of the Kering CEO, François-Henri Pinault, is concerned about the future of the group he founded as a timber company in 1962 and, rightfully so, people close to him ask: What is his son doing?


Fixing Gucci needs to be Kering's number one priority. Gucci accounts for the bulk of the group's revenue and profits. It is its cash cow, as is Louis Vuitton for its arch-rival LVMH. The brand steadily declined after the pandemic when Marco Bizzarri, who was CEO, lost the talent that made the brand the industry's biggest success story, more than doubling its size between 2015 and 2019.


The exodus was partly a result of Bizzarris authoritarian management style, as Miss Tweed reported last year. As performance worsened and tension rose, Bizzarri sacked Alessandro Michele in November 2022. Bizzarri got the boot himself seven months later, in July 2023, as Kering realized he was no longer the right boss for the brand.


Last year, investors realized with stupefaction that Kering had not planned Michele's or Bizzarri's succession. The group hurriedly hired Sabato De Sarno, who was not their first choice, and appointed Group Managing Director Jean-François Palus as the new CEO of Gucci. Palus is no brand-builder or storyteller, but he is the most trusted friend and associate of François-Henri Pinault. Palus was supposed to be interim CEO, but Pinault said at its annual results in February that he was not planning to replace him for now.


That position may not be tenable for long.
.........