Sabato De Sarno’s Gucci Fall-Winter 2024/2025 is Sexy
- Yaseen Dockrat
As always the case when a new Creative Director takes charge of a storied fashion house, all eyes were on Sabato De Sarno’s third act at the helm of Gucci. For AW24, De Sarno reinforced the new codes of the brand that he had laid out in his debut collection, made up of an exciting colour palette and contemporary tailoring, finished off with sexy lingerie ensembles paired with riding boots and heeled loafers. The collection was hot, sexy, and new, paving the way for Gucci to reclaim its luxury market share.
Photo: Gorunway.com
In his debut show, De Sarno brought out models in leggy looks, appealing to a younger, fresher crowd, and his AW collection was no different. “This is my way of dreaming, without a hurry, visualizing and stratifying aspirations as if they were the bricks of a house,” De Sarno wrote in his show notes. If his previous collection was laying the foundation, his AW24 collection was undoubtedly the building blocks of the Gucci he envisions.
Photo: Gorunway.com
De Sarno cut back to the Maison’s tailoring prowess. While the collection was still leggy, the designer sent out models in longer skirts, but while his predecessor often included pants in his collections, there were no signs of any at De Sarno’s Gucci. The show opened with a short suit featuring an impeccably tailored jacket buttoned to the neck and an elegant thin belt that punctuated the waist. The look was completed with riding boots that rose over the knee. The shoes were minimalistic, and the outfit sexy, setting the tone that at De Sarno’s Gucci “the clothes are the theme.”
Photo: Gorunway.com
The entire collection features incredible detailing, with the designer paying attention to the look of his ensembles, the movement of the fabric, and the emotions these clothes evoke. Shift dresses featured layers that overlapped, bonded by embroidery and lace that may have evoked the 1930s. That being said, the collection was as contemporary as can be. “My dreams, as with my fashion, always converse with reality,” De Sarno said. “I am not searching for another world to live in, but rather of ways to live in this world.”
Photo: Gorunway.com
Coats filled the runway, as one may expect from an Autumn Winter collection, and you would be hard-pressed to find one that is more delectable than the other. Coats stitched from the waist to the hem featured dégradé paillettes. Tunics and dresses were crafted from double-face wool-cashmere in a shade Gucci’s design team called “rotten green.”
Photo: Gorunway.com
Detailing extended to gold-toned Double-G buttons on the necks of coats, ribbon neckties, and chain necklaces. An AW collection would only be complete with accessories, and while De Sarno stripped back on the colours and prints, his collection featured curved bags with double-G clasps and chased brass clasps that are found on clutch bags.
What this collection proved is that De Sarno’s vision for Gucci is very different from Michele’s Gucci, which dominated the last few years. De Sarno is appealing to a younger, fresher crowd and a broader market to restore Gucci to its now-waning market share. It remains to be seen how De Sarno’s vision of the clothes being the theme sits with his audience. If anything, De Sarno is off to a great start.