Two months into his position at Gucci and it seems Demna understood the project.
After two years of tumbling gross sales and a stalled turnaround below earlier inventive director Sabato De Sarno, Demna breathed new life into the label this week with two back-to-back spectacles made for the web age: first, a digital launch of a glance e-book Monday — a curated tackle the model archives that includes 37 Gucci-donning “archetypes.”
Then, a buzzy film premier Tuesday night to advertise the look e-book, the place a flock of A-listers descended on a crimson carpet in Milan, every donning one in all the ensembles to display a brief movie known as “Le Tigre,” directed by Spike Jonze and Halina Reijn (whose characters additionally wore the assortment by Demna).
For many, the pleasure round the affair surpassed the garments themselves, which nodded to Gucci’s storied historical past below varied different designers (particularly Tom Ford) but in addition contained loads of Demna’s personal DNA: sculptural collars, exaggerated shoulders, a tinge of distortion in the styling.
The dialog Demna created this week didn’t hinge on the assortment — it was his media savvy that turned the look e-book into a complete cultural second, which thrust the model again into the highlight, with out Demna having to design a full assortment or current a standard present. Despite the absence of novel designs, Demna scored prompt hype for Gucci whereas additionally granting himself time to plan his subsequent strikes.
Leveraging the energy of the crimson carpet isn’t new to Demna. For his Balenciaga spring 2021 present, the designer reworked the runway right into a crimson carpet, or vice versa; it was unclear. Akin to efficiency artwork, Demna screened a livestream of the crimson carpet of friends arriving at the “show,” which featured fashions alongside actual attendees, breaking the wall between the artist and the viewer. When the livestream ended, there was a shock screening of a 10-minute episode of “The Simpsons” about Balenciaga.
Even if the assortment — and Tuesday’s stunt — weren’t breaking new floor, Demna made it clear he has a plan for making a vibe round the model, with occasions that may drive renewed pleasure, a feat his predecessor struggled to realize. There’s additionally one thing to be stated for the sheer pace with which he was capable of insert Gucci into the zeitgeist once more, if not just for a second.
Demna himself was clear that the assortment is barely a preview of what’s going to come in February, when he’ll current his first full runway present.
Rather than the normal lead time of 4 to 6 months, the look e-book items have been made accessible instantly in shops. At the model’s Montenapoleone flagship Friday, prospects have been already coming to take a look at the garments in an area that had been speed-renovated with darkish maroon carpets over the weekend. A tiger-striped fur coat worn by Alex Consani at Monday’s occasion was already on backorder.
“The archetypes are a bit like an exercise where I’m creating imaginary characters, like the characters in the movie,” Demna informed BoF’s Tim Blanks in an interview this week. “And then we enlarge that and see where it can go. And I think, probably by my show in February, I won’t see them anymore as characters, they’ll just be a crowd.”
Investors had initially balked at Gucci’s nomination of Demna — with shares in guardian firm Kering falling 11 % following his nomination in March. The model nonetheless has a protracted method to go, however this week raised hopes that below its new creative director, Gucci’s nice reset is underway.