The great Gucci reset is here. On Wednesday, the Italian fashion house named Demna, the mononymic designer who transformed Balenciaga from a niche luxury house into one of the most provocative, boundary-breaking brands of the last decade, as its new artistic director. He will be in charge of women’s wear, men’s wear and accessories.
Gucci and Balenciaga are owned by Kering, the French conglomerate that also owns Saint Laurent, McQueen, Brioni and Bottega Veneta. A new designer for Balenciaga has not been announced.
“Gucci stands for fashion authority,” Stefano Cantino, the chief executive of Gucci, said. “This is what we want to bring back.”
Demna will be the first “star” designer with a proven track record in Gucci’s 104-year history, a seeming acknowledgment of the crisis it has experienced over the last two years after an apparent attempt to recast itself as a timeless luxury brand. Revenue plunged 23 percent in 2024, and the Kering stock price has more than halved since 2023. (Gucci is by far the largest brand in the Kering stable.)
The appointment will add yet more turmoil to an already unsettled fashion world in which a record number of fashion companies have changed design heads in the last year. Half of Kering’s brands alone will have new designers in 2025.
“We were looking for a strong and opinionated designer,” Mr. Cantino said. “Demna is one of the few.” He brings with him not just design skills, Mr. Cantino said, but “an understanding of contemporary culture, of what is luxury today and a deep understanding of the new generation.”
Gucci did not confirm when Demna would show his first collection, but he will begin in early July after his final Balenciaga couture show. He will split his time between his home in Switzerland and the Gucci headquarters in Milan.
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