When I look at what’s unfolding under its new leadership, I feel like something radical is stirring—heritage isn’t being dusted off; it’s being remixed, pushed, revived with grit, and reimagined. There’s a sharp energy in the air at this fashion house, a boldness that suggests the house is ready not just to return to its roots, but to stretch them into new forms.
I want to walk you through what I believe are the four daring early-season pivots Gucci has made, and why they show that heritage can be both radical and resilient.
Gucci’s first pivot is leadership overhaul. I read that in early 2025, Sabato De Sarno, who had taken over in 2023, exited as creative director, after just two years. That exit was sudden, just weeks before Milan Fashion Week. I sense that Gucci’s leadership saw that something had to move faster, had to feel more alive.
Then came the appointment of Demna as artistic director effective July 2025 In addition, Francesca Bellettini succeeded Stefano Cantino as CEO in September 2025. These are not small changes. It tells me they are repositioning from top down, trying to reclaim control of its narrative and identity. Heritage can’t revive itself—it needs stewards willing to lean into both its weight and its wings.
Gucci’s second pivot is creative daring, especially with Demna’s debut moves. The “La Famiglia” collection, dropped ahead of full runway shows, signals that Gucci under Demna wants to fuse signature hallmarks—jewel tones, iconic bags, vintage accessories—with dramatic silhouettes, exaggerated shapes, couture-pop mashups. I saw that the collection is called “unapologetically sexy, extravagant, and daring”. It’s a mixing of past and future: Gucci’s heritage codes reinterpreted through a lens that wants to provoke and surprise. This is heritage radicalized.
Gucci’s third pivot is commercial strategy and immediacy. I’m watching how Gucci is adopting “see now, buy now” approaches for certain pieces, previewing collections on social, making ready-to-wear or accessories immediately available in select stores.
That move answers market urgency. It’s a push to satisfy younger consumers, to make heritage feel accessible, present, not archival or too distant. Gucci seems to be betting that radical reinvention also needs speed and relevance, not just dreamy nostalgia.
Gucci’s fourth pivot is reconnecting to its roots while setting up for reinvention—place, symbols, narrative. One example I loved: the alfresco show in Florence, in Palazzo Settimanni and out into city cafés, celebrating jet-set 1960s glamour, brocade mini-shifts, kaftans, horse-bit loafer heritage, double and single G hardware, oversized sunglasses.
It felt like Gucci had walked home and then opened the door into a room full of its own legacy but sprinkled with future dust. Fior-book roots, but spirited with what’s coming. That show (Florence Cruise 2026) felt like home and lab at once.
I feel these pivots are intertwined. The leadership changes allow Gucci to lean hard into daring creative directions without being shackled by inertia. Demna brings audacity, Bellettini and de Meo bring discipline and urgency. Gucci’s heritage becomes more than visual reference—it becomes material to experiment with, to stretch, to test boundaries.
I also believe these pivots are risky. Heritage brands often live on the edge between idolatry and irrelevance. If Gucci overcorrects, it could alienate longtime clients. If it leans too avant-garde, it may lose commercial footing. But so far, I see Gucci balancing those tensions. For example, some heritage staples are being revived (iconic bags, signature hardware) even as bold new silhouettes, theatrical shapes emerge. Gucci is not choosing one or the other; it’s trying to fuse them.
When I imagine where Gucci might go from here, I think of further integration of its dusty archives with bold statements—maybe retooling old logos, maybe remixing vintage styles with streetwear bravado. Maybe more immersive retail experiences that tap into ritual, history, story.
I imagine color palettes going back to the deep greens, reds, golds, but undercut by sharp contrasts, unexpected textures, modern cuts. I hope they push material innovation: sustainable leathers, maybe archival patterns made with zero waste. Because that kind of heritage made radical feels resilient.
I want you to feel what Gucci is doing: it’s not just trying to bring back what worked. It’s daring to ask: what of our past can radicalize us today? How can what was once signalled by opulence, craftsmanship, glamour, strange beauty be remixed into something urgent? Gucci under its new leadership seems to say: heritage isn’t a museum; it’s a laboratory. And resilience is remembering who you were—but also being willing to change who you need to be.
From where I sit, Gucci’s early-season pivots feel like a promise. Not a safe promise, but a breath held and released. It feels like they want to win back the world not by safe plays, but by showing that heritage, when honored correctly, can be radical. It can be resilient. It can roar and comfort. It can pull from memory but push toward what’s alive.
That’s what I take from these pivots—and why I believe Gucci might just surprise us.
