Sabato De Sarno - Designer, Creative Director of Gucci

[blueorchid]

Claire's level jewelry

 

[FiLReD]

GG: Gaudy & Grotesque

 

[Olaffo]

They’re throwing everything they have, that’s just f*cking ludicrous: eyewear, fashion, more fashion, another fashion, burgundy furniture, pool fashion, jewellery , spacesuits, more fashion (but not too much this time), tableware, car tires, fashion etc. Jesus just you guys stop, nobody cares…

 

[chungkyekye]

Thisss.

It's so weird how back in the day every major brand with licensing deals were trying to curb them due to brand 'perception issues' with all the funky stuff those 3rd party companies were churning out.

Now they are releasing these 'licensing level items' totally IN-HOUSE.

 

[IloveDiorHomme]

That "swimming" pool campaign is so bad...
Really bland. The attitudes, the tone, the lights. SO BASIC.
And I don't even mention the products...

 

[perhydrol]

^ Not to mention they're literally shooting themselves in the foot with this campaign after the debut one with Daria... that one was luxurious, this one is giving a shein poster. But so does the product, and they want to push the message of elevation of the brand. Good luck with that.

 

[Frederic01]

cpp-luxury.com

April 27, 2024
GUCCi debuts a campaign showcasing the newest additions to its Gucci Interlocking fine jewelry collection.

The latest designs present a modern interpretation of the iconic Interlocking G motif, prominently placed within a circular charm adorned with exquisite gemstones. The mood of the campaign exudes a sense of timeless beauty and sophistication, where the colored gemstones create a striking contrast against the jewelry setting.

Abstract elements of the Interlocking G logo act as a refined framework and highlight the new designs’ complex craftsmanship and balanced aesthetic.
The collection comprises three different sets of jewelry, each spotlighting a different gemstone: onyx, green agate or mother-of-pearl.
While the deep allure of black onyx is elegantly contrasted with yellow gold, the green agate is set playfully against pink gold.
A third sumptuous version, crafted in mother-of-pearl, is combined with pink gold and peppered with diamond pavé on the central motif.

Each set features two rings, available either with a 12mm or 17mm disc charm, along with a bracelet, a choice between delicate paired studs or hoop earrings with a pendant, and a necklace featuring a 12mm ornament. Two statement necklaces with larger 27mm medallions, available in onyx and mother-of-pearl, complete the selection.

The Interlocking G has been a significant motif for the House since the 1960s. Designed as a tribute to the House’s founder, Guccio Gucci, it represents luxury, quality, and Italian craftsmanship

Gucci Interlocking fine jewelry

This looks suspiciously close to the Dior "Rose des Vents" jewellery line. They just swapped out the star for the GG's? So weird....

 

[Thefrenchy]

I mean... It's yet another poor version of the Cartier "Amulette"...



source: cartier.com

 

[lookatme]

^^and that’s how you know the merchandising team is in charge at Gucci.

Trust me - I’ve worked with fashion merchandizers before - they look at the market, “identify the competitors,” look at those brand’s top selling products, then go to their own internal design team and say “we need a necklace like this.”

 

[plentyofhorns]

Interesting to read the opinions of “normies” on Reddit. Seems like nobody likes new Gucci. Also I guess they realized their mistake with the lobster claw clasp on the Jackie and are quietly switching back to the classic piston clasp.

https://www.reddit.com/r/handbags/s/q58OpPrcJP

 

[jeanclaude]

At this rate Gucci is going to be the new Pierre Cardin (putting their name everywhere).

 

[avonlea002]

Solving this mess will be very difficult and expensive.

 

[blueorchid]

At least we'll get plenty of laughs out of it.

 

[gallianostan]

so happy i'll be alive to witness gucci's downfall

 

[LadyJunon]

The main subject of this article isn't that interesting, but the last few paragraphs (in rosso ancora) tell us how poorly prepared Gucci was to accommodate the Ancora overhaul.

Gucci Doubles Store Size at South Coast Plaza, Readies Grove Boutique

Gucci is investing more in Southern California retail after the 2023 debut of exclusive by-appointment-only Salon where the minimum price tag is $43,000.

By DEBORAH BELGUM
APRIL 29, 2024, 1:05AM

Profit warnings not withstanding, Gucci is in retail growth mode in Southern California with a mammoth expanded two-story store now open at South Coast Plaza and a new boutique set for late June at The Grove shopping center in Los Angeles.

After nine months of construction at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, California, the wraps came off the revamped Gucci store, stocked with a full array of creative director Sabato De Sarno‘s men’s and women’s clothing and accessories in a space twice as big as before.

Inside, the sleek decor, designed by the Italian label’s in-house team, is accented by custom marble flooring with geometric shapes drawing inspiration from historic buildings. The walls are marked by clean lines and understated tones enhanced by rich fabrics. The store is created to look like a home, with built-in displays reminiscent of walk-in closets and intimate corners filled with Gucci Décor velvet armchairs, sofas and shaggy wool rugs. There are also two VIP lounges for a more private shopping experience.

On the store’s first floor, men’s ready-to-wear, shoes, accessories and the travel collection known as Valigeria, are housed. A curving staircase leads to the second floor where shoppers can peruse the women’s summer and pre-fall ready-to-wear collections, shoes and handbags, fine jewelry as well as Gucci Kids and Gucci Décor.

The expanded store covers 19,000 square feet compared to the 10,000 square feet previously. “This expanded presence in the market will provide our clients an elevated experience, featuring VIP shopping areas on both levels of the boutique and a curated product offering for our clients to discover the best of Gucci’s fashion in one place,” said Federico Turconi, Gucci Americas president and chief executive officer, in an email.

He added the new boutique offers clients the opportunity to discover De Sarno’s Gucci Ancora spring 2024 ready-to-wear collection, along with the house’s full range of products. “We are delighted to also introduce several exclusive items for our Southern California clientele in celebration of the opening, including handbags and pieces from the 20th anniversary collection of the Horsebit fine jewelry line.”

Joining the brand’s Southern California presence is a new Gucci boutique opening in two months at The Grove, the high-end outdoor shopping center in L.A., developed by billionaire Rick Caruso. The new store will span 8,000 square feet and will carry a wide selection of men’s and women’s rtw from the summer collection, handbags, accessories, shoes, Gucci Beauty and the Gucci Valigeria collection. It takes over a location once housing a J.Crew store.

The interior will have marble flooring, which will echo the house’s logo on the facade, and rich, lighter tone fabrics on the walls. Racks inspired by classic brass designs will display various products.

Gucci joins several other high-end stores at The Grove, whose major tenants include Nordstrom, Coach, Michael Kors, Frame, Paige, Vince and Apple. This will be the Italian house’s seventh store in the greater L.A. area.

Last year, Gucci made a splash in L.A. by opening one of its most luxurious formats — an exclusive ultra-luxe Salon on the corner of Melrose Place and Melrose Avenue. Marked by a large Gucci billboard overhead, the ivy-shrouded salon is open to top-tier clients by appointment only. Prices at the boutique, which debuted one year ago, start at $43,000 and climb upward. There are only a handful of the Salons around the world.

Gucci, which makes up about half of parent company Kering Group’s revenues, has been struggling against luxury market competitors.

In Kering’s first-quarter financial reporting, Gucci’s revenues, hit by weak demand in China, plummeted 21 percent to 2 billion euros. Kering is predicting that its profit for the first half of this fiscal year will decline 40 percent to 45 percent.

Gucci has undergone several executive changes in the past two years. Longtime creative director Alessandro Michele, on board since 2015, left in late 2022 and was succeeded in early 2023 by De Sarno, who showed his first collection at Milan Fashion Week in September 2023. Gucci’s longtime CEO, Marco Bizzarri, also with the company since 2015, departed last year. He was succeeded by Jean-François Palus, who had been Kering Group’s managing director.

While the brand regularly upgrades its stores, it won’t introduce a new store concept until late 2025 or early 2026, said Claire Roblet, Kering’s director of financial communications and market intelligence, during the first-quarter earnings call.

De Sarno’s collections should account for 25 percent of new products in stores in the second quarter, and by the second half, his designs will represent all the seasonal items on offer, Palus said.

Source: WWD

SS24 should've been ready for stores from January/February, but they're still releasing core pieces now. They're obscenely far behind schedule, not mentioning the mess that is their SS24 current men's offering.

 

[gallianostan]

so what exactly was the logic in firing michele and substituting him with this dweeb?

 

[perhydrol]

While the brand regularly upgrades its stores, it won’t introduce a new store concept until late 2025 or early 2026, said Claire Roblet, Kering’s director of financial communications and market intelligence, during the first-quarter earnings call.

So they can basically skip this whole ancora nonsense and just give the opportunity to the next creative director.

 

[Frederic01]

Gucci has undergone a complete transformation, moving away from engaging and inspiring brand storytelling to predominantly presenting product features. The once distinct brand imagery has now become indistinguishable among many others.

Without the ubiquitous logo plastered on practically every social media post, it would be almost impossible to distinguish the new Gucci from its competitors. What was once a celebration of life has now become “Ancora,” a term that means nothing in regards to creating client-specific value.

Gucci has shifted from being a client-focused storyteller to an internally focused product presenter. While the former creates excitement and desire, the latter feels boring and mundane. Until this approach is recalibrated, I don’t expect the brand to bounce back. What Gucci needs now is to create excitement and work on the basics.

Excitement is not created by paying an endless array of celebrities to be ambassadors of the brand. It’s also not created by posting — as happened recently — about an advertising campaign now being displayed in cities around the world. This may be appropriate for a small brand running its first campaign, but not for a brand like Gucci. Furthermore, excitement is not created by never-ending product shots.

JING DAILY

 

[NoInvite]

A retail concept is not promised...it's a sign management doesn't trust the direction.
The current store is not helping Ancora at all.

 

[Lola701]

so what exactly was the logic in firing michele and substituting him with this dweeb?

There was already a conflict regarding creative decisions and I think there are even articles on here that indicated that teams were hired to propose a more retail friendly offer, separated from Michele’s extravaganza.

In reality, if Michele showed versatility, maybe he would have said.

Part of a designer’s job and the key to a longevity is to sense the time, to anticipate people’s desire.

Everybody wants a Karl, a John, a Nicolas, a Marc…etc. But that’s where casting is important.
Some designers are very talented but also limited.

In reality, I think Mathieu Blazy is the only real gifted talent at Kering today. If there’s a great communication and support from the executives, he can do great things.