Sabato De Sarno - Designer, Creative Director of Gucci

[PDFSD]

He was PPP’s number 2 at Valentino. He can be his number 2 at Gucci. It would be a battle of ego but I don’t know if it would be for the better of the studio.
The good thing is that he seems quite discreet and used to the corporate machine. If he leaves KERING on good terms, he may have more opportunities than Stefano.

I don't see Kering trying to do another Valentino mistake nr 2 knowing PPP stagnated at Valentino and Gucci is a even bigger layered beast of a cake to handle....but yes you never know how desperate the suits are or lack of vision at this point to select a talent more further away from Rome time will tell.
PPP does have more experience in acc he could just simply use his glossy touch on acc and rtw be a backdrop to tell a simple gucci italian yet sitter love story bla bla ( Frida simplicity meets TF sharpness lol)

 

[PDFSD]

BY
AFP / www.fashionnetwork.com
TRANSLATED BY
Roberta HERRERA
PUBLISHED
Apr 11, 2024

​

Revitalizing Gucci: Kering's paramount endeavor​

Gucci has long served as the powerhouse driving the luxury conglomerate Kering forward. Yet, sales of the esteemed Italian brand are decidedly on a downward trajectory in a decelerating global luxury market. Consequently, Kering has little choice but to rejuvenate the brand by elevating its position in the market.
SEE CATWALK

Gucci - Fall/Winter 2024 - 2025 - Women's fashion show - Italy - Milan - ©Launchmetrics/spotlight

"A group that relies so heavily on a single brand is dangerous," noted Eric Briones, author of Luxe et Digital in conversation with AFP.

The Italian brand, renowned for its python bags and belts, accounts for 50% of Kering's revenue and two-thirds of its operational profitability.

Yet, the first quarter of 2024 forecasts a downturn, with Gucci's sales anticipated to "fall by nearly 20%," Kering warned in March, alongside an expected "10%" decline for the entire group.

In contrast, LVMH boasts two dynamic brands, Dior and Vuitton. However, as Briones highlighted, LVMH's roadmap for Michael Burke (CEO of LVMH Fashion Group, which brings together brands such as Celine, Givenchy, Loewe, Kenzo, etc.) is to cultivate five driving brands within the next five years.

Similarly, Italian rival Prada is fervently aiming to expand its brand Miu Miu.

Gucci's reliance on an Asian and "aspirational" clientele, namely a younger, less affluent demographic drawn to "trendy" products, poses a challenge. The Asian luxury market hasn't regained its pre-Covid momentum, and the aspirational customers are impacted by inflation.

A few months before the Covid-19 pandemic, in 2019, Gucci embarked on an "upscaling" strategy, focusing on "more sophisticated, higher-end segments with a clientele possessing greater purchasing power," according to CEO of the luxury conglomerate, François-Henri Pinault.
A significant storytelling effort


"The so-called elevation strategy is, theoretically, the right approach," commented Julie El Ghouzzi, author of The Luxury Manual, to AFP.

Fashion is fleeting, while luxury is timeless. "Gucci's business model initially leans closer to fashion, necessitating quicker renewal. Consequently, affection or disaffection for the brand is cyclical," she explained.

Elevation "is the ability to create iconic, timeless pieces enhanced with fashion's sparkle," elaborated El Ghouzzi.

For Kering, this pivot also means reevaluating Gucci's highly successful fashion positioning under Alessandro Michele. Notably, Michele's unique collections (who left the company in 2022) skyrocketed Gucci's revenue from €3.9 billion in 2015 to €10.5 billion in 2022.

"There's a significant storytelling effort required for iconic pieces: the spotlight should be on the products, not the creative director," El Ghouzzi analyzed.

"People say, 'I bought a Kelly' (Hermès' iconic bag). We don't know who made it; it's the icon, the story that sells: it was Grace Kelly who used the bag to conceal her pregnancy," she recounted.

"With Jackie Kennedy, there's ample material to work with!" El Ghouzzi added, referring to Gucci's "Jackie" bag made famous by Jacqueline Kennedy.

Simultaneously, Kering has reshuffled Gucci's leadership, appointing Jean-François Palus, one of François-Henri Pinault's closest collaborators, as the brand's head. A new team has been forming around him in recent months.

On Thursday, Gucci announced the appointment of Stefano Cantino, formerly of rival Louis Vuitton, as the new deputy CEO, tasked with "defining and implementing the brand's strategy."

"We lacked sufficient expertise and talent in key company positions," François-Henri Pinault admitted in February, highlighting the luxury sector's demand for "very strong" expertise in sales, merchandising, and sourcing.

"We remain convinced that the actions currently being undertaken at Gucci should eventually bear fruit," said HSBC bank in early April, though it does not foresee double-digit sales growth for Gucci until the fourth quarter.

 

[Olaffo]

renowned for its python bags and belts

b*tch, where?

focusing on "more sophisticated, higher-end segments with a clientele possessing greater purchasing power," according to CEO of the luxury conglomerate

b*tch, I'm asking, where?

 

[jeanclaude]

Execs thinking they can solve the problem by any means...but getting a good designer (hint: Sabato is not one).

 

[gallianostan]

they brought this on themselves so they deserve it

 

[Frederic01]

This whole "brand elevation" strategy will backfire on these brands one day. Putting the prices up and competing against brands like Hermes, Chanel, Dior, etc is a losing game.

Gucci's success lies in its ability to be "of the moment". We saw that with Tom Ford and Alessandro Michele.

Hermes is a different story all together. They played the long game and created a very stable and reliable image around the brand. Gucci on the other hand has had these drastic changes in creative direction which gives a sense of chaos and unpredictability. It's not the best look for a company seeking to attract loyal, lifelong clientele.

The upcoming Cruise London show will be a make-it-or-break-it moment for Sabato. He has the ability to really define his vision. We don't need any more so called "palette-cleanser" collections. We need a strong and dynamic vision from him and from Gucci now...

 

[lookatme]

Gucci is so f*cked lol.

Sabato is on such thin ice. And rightly so. He's insane - putting out two collections as obscenely amateur as he did and acting like a misunderstood, bitter martyr for getting the criticism he deserves.

Fashion executives have completely lost the plot. They are hungry for constant growth - but have they forgotten that fashion is very fickle beast? This isn't toothpaste. Fashion is a very emotional industry and that is almost impossible to calculate. Things that should be hits aren't. Things that shouldn't work blow up.

With this huge push for growth, too much exposure cheapens their product. It's a tale as old as time...every big name brand seems to have gone through the same cycle at least once before...they expand full speed ahead with larger distribution, gimmicky entry level items, licensing deals, etc. and they ALWAYS have to pull back and rebuild cache. Always. The decisions many of these CEOs have been making recently seem incredibly short sighted. I foresee everything in fashion coming crashing down in the very near future. And not just for Gucci.

 

[gallianostan]

I foresee everything in fashion coming crashing down in the very near future. And not just for Gucci.

from your lips to god's ears. the conglomerates need a wakeup call and fashion needs to start over from square one, although i don't envision a downturn in fortunes for LVMH specifically... but overall, the only way the industry can survive is if the slate is wiped clean

 

[NoInvite]

How sad that Gucci is kinda like the big sis that has to provide for the whole family
As I've stated here many times, the problem for Sabato is that he doesn't have the 360 vision.
Such expectations must be insane mentally. I feel for him.

I've been getting these stares on my social feed and I feel for them.
It's not elevating at all.

 

[yslforever]

That "brand elevation" they wish for is in total contradiction with their runways and campaigns so far, I feel like their competition is more akin to Ferragamo and Tod's now than LV or Hermès.

 

[Thefrenchy]

Execs thinking they can solve the problem by any means...but getting a good designer (hint: Sabato is not one).

Exactly. These execs are the reason why fashion is so desperately stale.

 

[PDFSD]

Exactly. These execs are the reason why fashion is so desperately stale.

also lots of execs last couple of years more then before want to be also the star and think to be creative and tastemakers ...to many show pony´s view work horses .....

 

[Lola701]

Exactly. These execs are the reason why fashion is so desperately stale.

And particularly people who comes from business schools.
There’s a sad reality today that people don’t address because somehow, they wants corporatism to infuse every part of the industry (those people mostly comes from America). And with that comes the arrogant people from business schools who are drawn to fashion only because Bernard Arnault is rich and they look at the biggest fortunes in France.

We see how Procter and Gamble and all those corporate entities have succeed in this world right? Thinking fashion can be sold like a detergent because it’s all a matter of product. Thinking that everything is a matter of market research…

Even if LVMH is part of the problem, there’s a reason why they are still ahead of Kering. The talent still matters there. That’s why I have respect for Delphine and others. We may hate MGC’s Dior but at least, it’s her voice! People are responding to it!

And you see, the people who leaves LVMH, still leads with talents. Gobbetti believed in Tisci at Burberry even if it wasn’t a success. He is leading with another talent at Ferragamo. It’s about the talent.

Where are the executives from Kering today? Isabelle Guichot left Balenciaga to lead the Sandro group..Mark Lee is nowhere to be found. Patrizio Di Marco the same. The list is endless.

I think the job of a CEO is to be product oriented. You needs a good designers to deliver ideas, concepts, products and you need CEOs to highlight those products and push them.

Gucci’s aggressive marketing was about a color and a name. Now, they are pushing the Jackie? The platform loafers were supposed to be the hit of the season…

 

[plentyofhorns]

How sad that Gucci is kinda like the big sis that has to provide for the whole family
As I've stated here many times, the problem for Sabato is that he doesn't have the 360 vision.
Such expectations must be insane mentally. I feel for him.

I've been getting these stares on my social feed and I feel for them.
It's not elevating at all.

View attachment 1260583View attachment 1260584

The campaigns are f*cking abysmal. And I know his ancora still isn’t available for menswear but they need to refresh the men’s offerings on their website ASAP. The whole selection looks like it could be purchased on canal street. It’s all so drug dealer chic. Double G and webbing on every piece. Gucci is screwed lol

 

[NoInvite]

Damn, that Jackie bag and loafer for mens. It's like beating a dead horse.
Things we've seen a thousand times. No wonder why its not performing.

 

[TaylorBinque]

What I like about AM Gucci was that it has a uniform direction. Aspirational lifestyle brand. As much as I loathe the grandma aesthetic, I love the store, the menswear were interesting enough. There are attempts to do maison collection. Not Gucci is a sterile minimalist wanna be. It offers nothing but a marketing-driven gimmicky copy that no one really gets it.

An Italian brand that I think is doing great in the aspirational aspect is D&G, you may hate the clothes but they really do offer a full fantasy. Gucci, today, is as forgettable as the word Ancora itself

 

[Kanzai]

We could see that D&G is doing great, there has been a huge makeover there, i do think that their F/W 24 mens collection will sell well. Gucci doesn't even have a MGC level CD for their 15 Billions goal lol. From a glorious brand under Tom Ford's reign...end up becoming this, seriously ?

Gucci is desperately drowning and it seems Kering doesn't know how to "swim" to save it

 

[GoldenTribe]

I've been getting these stares on my social feed and I feel for them.
It's not elevating at all.

View attachment 1260583View attachment 1260584

Slide 1: Adrian Grenier as Denzel Washington advertising a theatrical performance of a period play with just enough homoeroticism to make him regret both the role and the haircut.

Slide 2: Jason Lee as a distraught Backstreet Boy who just got PUNK'D by Ashton Kutcher and thinks momentarily that he is out 300K for a Lamborghini.

 

[Lola701]

What I like about AM Gucci was that it has a uniform direction. Aspirational lifestyle brand. As much as I loathe the grandma aesthetic, I love the store, the menswear were interesting enough. There are attempts to do maison collection. Not Gucci is a sterile minimalist wanna be. It offers nothing but a marketing-driven gimmicky copy that no one really gets it.

An Italian brand that I think is doing great in the aspirational aspect is D&G, you may hate the clothes but they really do offer a full fantasy. Gucci, today, is as forgettable as the word Ancora itself

But D&G is still run by the founders. Any changes or period of identity crisis (or creative confusion) they goes through still have the stamp of approval of the founders. The brand has had many lives since 1985 but there’s a common thread, an identity that has been build and certain products, or at least ideas of products (lingerie, shift dresses, laces, blouses, prints) that have always been a staple in their offering.

What Gucci lacks is that.
I have just seen the latest Vuitton luggage campaign. A bunch of trucks in the background, it is still more aspirational and desirable than Kendall running around an airport.

 

[TaylorBinque]

I mean Sabato hasn't really pull out much of anything since he has been at the house. Obviously there is a problem with his vision but also the direction and governance by the suits too. LV, Dior, D&G always come out with mini capsules that involves aspiration aspect, be it traveling, skiing, lounging, resort etc. They also expand their maison collection at set popups at different location, hotels. Luxury today is very different than before. Even Hermes always come up with marketing events like the horse jumping, petit h workshop, exercise exhibit.