Gucci announces the end of its collaboration with Creative Director Sabato De Sarno. The Autumn Winter ’25 fashion show in Milan on 25 February will be presented by the Gucci design office.
Sabato De Sarno is exiting Gucci after less than two years as creative director
Sabato De Sarno is exiting Gucci after less than two years as creative director, the luxury brand announced. Its Autumn Winter 2025 showing during Milan Fashion Week on 25 February will be presented by the Gucci design studio. The announcement he is leaving was made less than a week before Kering is due to report full-year results.
Stefano Cantino, CEO of Gucci, said: “I would like to express my deep gratitude to Sabato for his passion and dedication to Gucci. I sincerely appreciate how he honoured Gucci’s craftsmanship and heritage with such commitment.”
Sabato De Sarno took over Gucci’s creative helm in 2023, succeeding Alessandro Michele, who left the luxury brand after seven years. A graduate of Istituto Secoli, Milan, De Sarno has extensive experience in luxury fashion. Previously Valentino’s design director under Pierpaolo Piccioli, he has also worked at Dolce & Gabbana and Prada. At Gucci, he was tasked with emphasising the brand’s iconic qualities to help generate sales, which had begun declining during the pandemic and led to several years of stagnant sales.
However, De Sarno’s short-lived tenure was marred by a challenging luxury slowdown and weak sales. Per Vogue Business: “Its sales slumped by 25 per cent to €1.64 billion in the third quarter of 2024, dragging heavily on parent company Kering (Gucci is its biggest brand). This followed a 19 per cent drop in the second quarter, and an 18 per cent decrease in the first.”
Who are the potential candidates for Gucci’s creative direction?
A new creative director for Gucci will be announced in due time. “I sincerely thank Sabato for his loyalty and professionalism. I am proud of the work that has been done to further strengthen Gucci’s fundamentals. Stefano and the new Artistic Direction will continue to build on this and to guide Gucci towards renewed fashion leadership and sustainable growth,” said Francesca Bellettini, Kering Deputy CEO in charge of Brand Development.
Meanwhile, there are several potential candidates. Hedi Slimane left LVMH-owned Celine in October 2024 and could be a consideration. Kim Jones, who left Dior Homme recently, is another interesting candidate. Jonathan Anderson, who has extensive leather goods experience, could be a fresh choice. We can only guess…
Gucci trajectory looking ahead
The departure of Creative Director Sabato De Sarno from luxury label Gucci marks a significant transition for the luxury fashion brand, potentially reshaping its design philosophy and market strategy. The movement will also impact its parent company, Kering as Gucci is central to Kering’s revenue.
Image: gucci.com
“De Sarno himself was tasked with transformation when he replaced Alessandro Michele — who more than doubled Gucci’s sales to over €10 billion during his seven-year tenure, but exited as the hyper-growth began to slow,” per Vogue Business. “Fashion’s current cacophony of creative correction has reached this fever pitch as a strategy to galvanise sales during a period of wider economic malaise and global uncertainty. But is “newness” per se really such a hot metric during a slowdown? Luxury is an industry predicated on decadence, a core value, which, however rationalised, already sits uneasily in a moment of broader insecurity.”
His exit raises questions about whether the brand will continue along this minimalist path to a classic aesthetic or revert to the maximalism that defined its previous era. The failure of De Sarno’s collections to stabilise the financial graph at Gucci suggests that a new creative director may further impact Gucci’s positioning within the luxury sector. After all, the luxury fashion brands that have successfully negotiated the past financial year are steadfast in terms of brand heritage and design aesthetic, illustrated by Hermès and Prada Group.
From a market strategy perspective, Gucci’s direction post-De Sarno will depend on its leadership’s response to evolving consumer preferences. If the luxury brand chooses to embrace an avant-garde aesthetic again, it could rekindle excitement and media hype. Ultimately, this transition period will be crucial in determining whether Gucci strengthens its market dominance or faces a period of uncertainty.
10 Things You Didn’t Know About Gucci
Founded in Florence in 1921, Gucci is one of the world’s leading luxury brands. Gucci is part of the global luxury group Kering, which manages the development of renowned Houses in fashion, leather goods, jewellery, and eyewear. Following its centenary, the luxury brand continues to redefine luxury fashion while celebrating creativity, Italian craftsmanship, and innovation. Here are 10 things you didn’t know about Gucci:
- ✅ Founded in 1921 by Guccio Gucci in Florence, the brand initially specialised in high-quality leather luggage and equestrian goods before evolving into a fashion brand.
- ✅ While working as a porter at The Savoy London, Guccio Gucci was inspired by the elegant luggage carried by the wealthy elite, which led him to establish his own leather goods company on returning to Italy.
- ✅ During World War II, leather shortages led Gucci to innovate with materials, resulting in the creation of the Bamboo Bag in 1947, which remains a signature item to this day.
- ✅ The iconic double-G logo, representing the founder’s initials, was introduced in the 1930s and has since become one of the most recognisable symbols in luxury fashion.
- ✅ The Gucci family was involved in intense internal conflicts, culminating in Maurizio Gucci selling his shares in the company in 1993. The family no longer has any control over the brand.
- ✅ When Tom Ford became the brand’s creative director in 1994, he transformed Gucci into a symbol of modern glamour and sensuality, leading it to unprecedented success.
- ✅ In 2017, Gucci pledged to stop using fur in its collections, becoming a leader in ethical fashion and sustainability within the luxury industry.
- Gucci’s Genius Jeans, released in 1998, were once named the most expensive jeans in the world, priced at $3,134due to their intricate hand-stitching and embellishments.
- ✅ In collaboration with Oura, Gucci launched a luxury smart ring embedded with health-tracking technology, blending fashion with wearable tech innovation.
- ✅ From Balenciaga and Adidas to Disney and The North Face, Gucci has an extensive history of high-profile collaborations, merging luxury with streetwear and pop culture influences.
Jasmeen Dugal is Associate Editor at FashionABC, contributing her insights on fashion, technology, and sustainability. She brings with herself more than two decades of editorial experience, working for national newspapers and luxury magazines in India.
Jasmeen Dugal has worked with exchange4media as a senior writer contributing articles on the country’s advertising and marketing movements, and then with Condenast India as Net Editor where she helmed Vogue India’s official website in terms of design, layout and daily content. Besides this, she is also an entrepreneur running her own luxury portal, Explosivefashion, which highlights the latest in luxury fashion and hospitality.
