Sabato De Sarno made his first menswear bow as the creative director of Gucci on January 12 when he presented his Fall/Winter 2024 collection on day one of Milan Fashion Week, kicking off Fashion month with a tasteful bang.
De Sarno, who filled the void left by the departing Alessandro Michele almost 12 months to the day, showed his inaugural Gucci menswear collection inside Fonderia Carlo Macchi on the outskirts of Milan.
First off, this choice of venue was certainly interesting, a historic foundry with the perfect backdrop for De Sarno's menswear debut: a blend of tradition and modernity. What's notable, however, is that this is one of the rare shows to take place outside of the Gucci Hub.
The show itself, though, was as expected. It was a first look at De Sarno's Gucci menswear and a fresh change of pace from Michele’s archival patchwork style.
Where Michele’s Gucci was outlandish by design, frequently tapping the house's romantic '70s-era motifs, De Sarno’s menswear is a much more mystifying blend of chic and sexiness (quiet luxury anyone?).
We're talking clean lines, bold leather colors (similar to that of De Sarno’s womenswear debut), plenty of Jackie Bags, and rich fabrics that'll make you double take.
Wearability also seems to be a common theme this season, not just at Gucci.
This, though, means that collections have been less of an artistic spectacle and more a latest in nice clothes, which was exactly the case here.
Although Gucci’s first post-Michele show for FW23 was designed by the label's in-house creative team, it has since proven to be an appetizer of what was to come during the house's De Sarno era.
Of course, the collection must have had some input from the now-departed Michele, I mean it was typically luxurious, so of course it did.
But, comparing it to De Sarno's FW24 collection, it also offered a glimpse at the future of Gucci under his guise, and exactly the sort of quiet luxury-esque aesthetics we're seeing now.
Gucci’s new menswear era is going to be as luxury as it will be chic, but with De Sarno at the helm it's guaranteed to be wildly sexy, too. Which, if you ask me, is perfect three-way combination.
