STYLE

By GRAZIA INTERNATIONAL

24 September 2024

MFW: A Casual Affair. At Gucci, Sabato De Sarno’s Invitation To Seize The Moment

Capturing the spirit of a former First Lady, Gucci’s creative director transformed the long corridors of Milan’s Triennale into a mod-coded stream of the colour.

gucci-ss25 — MILAN, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 20: A model walks the runway at the Gucci fashion show during the Milan Womenswear Spring/Summer 2025 on September 20, 2024 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Estrop/Getty Images)

It’s been a year since Sabato de Sarno took over Alessandro Michele’s sequinned reins at Gucci, a bid by Kering to streamline its silhouettes and thus catch up to its luxury peers like LVMH and Hermès. De Sarno delivered with a pared-back vision and monochrome palette; long grey coats, white tanks, platform loafers. They were essentials, a factory reset of sorts, albeit never ordinary.

Cut to a year later, almost to the day, and the creative director’s Spring/Summer 2025 collection is still fulfilling the brief. Held at the palatial Triennale, an art and design museum in Milan, the first look was grey, low-slung tailored trousers and a jacket with sneakers. Structured blazers, shorts, and A-line skirts followed, as did grand, glossy leather coats in Gucci Rosso—the house’s deep, rich shade of oxblood.

“A year later, this collection shows an accomplished journey of construction. Moment after moment, I have built my ideas for Gucci,” says De Sarno. “A casual grandeur that takes shape through my obsessions—tailoring, lingerie, leather, 60s silhouettes, all combined with the tireless exploration of the heritage of this brand—and always with an irreverent attitude.”

De Sarno’s muse this season was Jackie O, a timeless, global style icon and Gucci client. To him, her spirit epitomised ‘casual grandeur’—the name of this SS25 collection—and it wasn’t long before the trousers and singlets were replaced with mod-coded silhouettes. Seaside separates and matching wide-brimmed hats riffed on the glamour of an Italian holiday in the 60s. The Maison’s Horsebit—a key element at home on Gucci’s loafers, was featured on a new, flat 60s-inspired boot. Archival print headscarfs and oversized, oval-shaped sunglasses were teamed with the iconic Bamboo 1947 handle bag and the Gucci 73 bucket bag.

“A precise moment in time. A moment to seize and live to the fullest. It’s the moment the sun dives into the sea at the end of an August day. It’s the moment we find ourselves,” says de Sarno. “This collection is a tribute to those moments, and an invitation to stop, seek your own moment.”

See highlights from the sunset-hued Gucci’s SS25 show below.