Gucci's New Creative Director: The Reaction
MILAN - Is Gucci ready for another textbook reinvention?
Time will tell, but on Saturday morning Gucci and parent company Kering took the industry by storm. surprise by appointing Sabato De Sarno, the new creative director of the Italian brand. Her first show for the brand will bow in September.
His name may mean nothing to those outside of the inner fashion circle and it was never said he was in the running to succeed Alessandro Michele, who left last November, but is joining from Valentino.
Raised in Naples, Italy, and based in Rome, he began his career at Prada in 2005, moving to Dolce & Gabbana, before joining Valentino in 2009, where he held positions of increasing responsibility, before being named fashion director overseeing men's and women's collections.
Related Galleries"He has a lot of experience in men's fashion and an in-depth knowledge of knitwear. Sabato has a very detailed and precise hand, and I didn't have the impression that he was a fashionista. He is very concrete, with an eye also on commercial matters. He is balanced and tenacious, very determined and with procedures very clear and structured work plans," said a luxury talent scout, who requested anonymity. With the decision to operate De Sarno, "it seems that Gucci wants to radically change its skin. The news will probably lead to changes within the design office. I wonder if this is not a transition phase."
This was a theory from multiple sources, which questioned the scope of work being offered at From Sarno, from a brand that achieved a turnover of 9.73 billion euros last year.
It is understood that Francois-Henri Pinault, Chairman and CEO of Kering, is seeking to raise the quotient luxury from Gucci. Sources said Pinault is considering a more structured organization led by a creative director, but not centered around a star character. Instead, the creative director would oversee the main designers overseeing the various categories, from beauty to fashion to jewelry.
A single designer in charge is no longer considered viable for Gucci to grow further - especially a creative director like Alessandro Michele was known to be.
Regardless, the general consensus from sources who spoke to WWD on Saturday was that De Sarno is very talented - and a nice person to boot.
His expertise in menswear aligns with Gucci's need to grow that category, an analyst said. luxury, who pointed out that De Sarno is the designer responsible for designing the VLTN logo at Valentino. “He can create desire for the brand but is not oblivious to merchandising,” the source said.
De Sarno started out in menswear, but his field expanded into womenswear with the spring 2020 collection. "There's no doubting his talent, he was Pierpaolo's [Piccioli] right-hand man, and he expanded his range at Valentino," said another Milan-based source.
>A market source said Gucci CEO Marco Bizzarri's decision "shows that he is very good at finding talent and understanding people's potential. If I hadn't known Sabato, I would have said that...
MILAN - Is Gucci ready for another textbook reinvention?
Time will tell, but on Saturday morning Gucci and parent company Kering took the industry by storm. surprise by appointing Sabato De Sarno, the new creative director of the Italian brand. Her first show for the brand will bow in September.
His name may mean nothing to those outside of the inner fashion circle and it was never said he was in the running to succeed Alessandro Michele, who left last November, but is joining from Valentino.
Raised in Naples, Italy, and based in Rome, he began his career at Prada in 2005, moving to Dolce & Gabbana, before joining Valentino in 2009, where he held positions of increasing responsibility, before being named fashion director overseeing men's and women's collections.
Related Galleries"He has a lot of experience in men's fashion and an in-depth knowledge of knitwear. Sabato has a very detailed and precise hand, and I didn't have the impression that he was a fashionista. He is very concrete, with an eye also on commercial matters. He is balanced and tenacious, very determined and with procedures very clear and structured work plans," said a luxury talent scout, who requested anonymity. With the decision to operate De Sarno, "it seems that Gucci wants to radically change its skin. The news will probably lead to changes within the design office. I wonder if this is not a transition phase."
This was a theory from multiple sources, which questioned the scope of work being offered at From Sarno, from a brand that achieved a turnover of 9.73 billion euros last year.
It is understood that Francois-Henri Pinault, Chairman and CEO of Kering, is seeking to raise the quotient luxury from Gucci. Sources said Pinault is considering a more structured organization led by a creative director, but not centered around a star character. Instead, the creative director would oversee the main designers overseeing the various categories, from beauty to fashion to jewelry.
A single designer in charge is no longer considered viable for Gucci to grow further - especially a creative director like Alessandro Michele was known to be.
Regardless, the general consensus from sources who spoke to WWD on Saturday was that De Sarno is very talented - and a nice person to boot.
His expertise in menswear aligns with Gucci's need to grow that category, an analyst said. luxury, who pointed out that De Sarno is the designer responsible for designing the VLTN logo at Valentino. “He can create desire for the brand but is not oblivious to merchandising,” the source said.
De Sarno started out in menswear, but his field expanded into womenswear with the spring 2020 collection. "There's no doubting his talent, he was Pierpaolo's [Piccioli] right-hand man, and he expanded his range at Valentino," said another Milan-based source.
>A market source said Gucci CEO Marco Bizzarri's decision "shows that he is very good at finding talent and understanding people's potential. If I hadn't known Sabato, I would have said that...
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