After months of furtive anticipation – and a Fall runway show that charted a fresh, uncharacteristically reticent direction – Gucci has just announced that its new house-wide creative director shall be Sabato De Sarno, successor to critical and commercial darling Alessandro Michele (who resigned in late 2022).
The Italian designer, who is renowned amongst industry insiders as a fashion lifer, is expected to stage his first show as Gucci’s capo dei capi later this September – during the spring/summer portion of Milan Fashion Week.
Originally raised in Naples, De Sarno does not have the sort of all-encompassing star power (for the immediate moment) that was so typical of Michele’s tenure at Gucci. Despite that, fashion cognoscenti have been quick to welcome the appointment: pointing to the young designer’s previous postings with multiple iconic Italian luxury brands.
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Now in the industry for close to 20 years, De Sarno spent the formative parts of his career at Prada, then Dolce & Gabbana; before making a crucial move to Valentino in 2009 – where he rose through the ranks to become one of the Milanese house’s primary fashion directors, responsible for overseeing the design of both its womenswear and menswear collections.
That career timeline puts De Sarno in the immediate orbit of Valentino’s award-winning lead designer, Pierpaolo Piccioli – who assumed creative authority over the brand in 2008. Evidently a favoured student of Piccioli’s (the two were last seen together publicly at the 2022 Fashion Awards), one gets the impression that De Sarno will be ideally placed at Gucci – where the brand’s departure from the octogenarian maximalism of Michele’s era appears to be well underway.
Reading from a prepared statement on Saturday, Marco Bizzarri, longtime CEO of Gucci, said he was “delighted” with De Sarno’s appointment and the young designer’s “vast and relevant experience.”
“I am certain that through Sabato’s deep understanding and appreciation for Gucci’s unique legacy,” Bizzarri continued, “he will lead our creative teams with a distinctive vision that will help [to] write this exciting next chapter – reinforcing [Gucci’s] fashion authority while capitalising on its rich heritage.”
Needless to say, expectations are at an all-time high.
