Times are rather bleak right now, and no matter what your take on the theatrics of catwalk fashion is, no one can deny that fashion holds a mirror up to what’s happening in the world. Which means that designers can either respond to it, or provide distraction from it and alleviate the gloom. Which is the route that Sabato De Sarno decided to take for his first standalone Gucci men’s show in Milan on Friday, which nodded to after-dark hedonism mixed with a grown-up interpretation of who the 21st century Gucci man is.
De Sarno, who debuted his first Gucci collection in September last year, spoke of “a party at the first light of day… a story of music, nights out, sweat, dancing and singing”. Quite the seductive proposition, no? The clothes followed suit; vest tops and denim dusted in gleaming crystals, shimmering fringing on jackets and coats, and tech-fabric bombers designed with the throb of the nightclub in mind. A pulse of high energy in sluggish January.
De Sarno’s focus during his short time at Gucci has been to dial the clock back to the sybaritic reputation it enjoyed under Tom Ford, when sex was on the agenda and the adverts were so controversial they were banned. Fordisms came through in the acres of skin and the splash of sparkles, but also in the grown-up and serious suiting. Gucci was the go-to for va-va-voom machismo structure and strong suiting back in the day, a sentiment that was less prevalent during former creative director Alessandro Michele’s reign at the house, where a soft-filter, feminised take on menswear was the order of the day. Blouses rather than bold shoulders.
But De Sarno’s tailoring is solid and powerful; who needs dreary old quiet luxury with its cashmere and hoodies when you’ve got a sharp black tuxedo or the dramatic sweep of an elongated black coat with exaggerated vents to ensure a pleasing ripple as you make an entrance?
Of course, De Sarno also needs to have his eye on the Gen Z clientele that luxury houses so clamour to attract, and there was plenty to keep them happy; streetwear-inspired puffas and the logania so beloved by the TikTok generation. Not to mention the requisite accessories that prop up a house like Gucci; stomping brothel-creeper shoes and slouchy leather bags with the all-important Italianate red and green striping.
Gucci’s newest iteration is a risk; Michele stamped such a singular identity onto the brand – all romance and rose-tinted retro frou-frou – that it’s a tough order to unpick the seams and start from scratch. But De Sarno has tapped into a dynamic, youthful energy at Gucci that’s refreshing and fun. And for the Italian patrician signore who just needs a really great suit, the designer’s got that covered too. Whether he chooses to hit the dancefloor in it and forget all his troubles is entirely up to him.
More from the show
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