Who is Sabato De Serno? Many of us have seen his name in headlines recently. He is the new creative director at the luxury fashion brand, Gucci! Gucci is one of the few fashion brands that come under the French luxury fashion goods company Kering. Kering is the parent company of brands like Yves Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen, and finally, the brand in the discussion, Gucci. Kering is owned by Artemis, with Francois Pinault as its chairman. They are responsible for taking crucial steps and executing placements at the higher posts as they did with Gucci. But the question surrounding the entire scenario is: why this step and that too, so suddenly?
Gucci and Kering
Gucci is a huge success with a great profit margin. Gucci was founded in 1921 in Italy. It picked up in the market with great profits in 2015. Gucci’s profit margin was so high that it contributed two-thirds of Kering’s profits as of 2021. However, when the pandemic reached its peak during the phase, Gucci’s sales fell. While this was going on with Gucci, suddenly, the now-former creative director of Gucci resigned in November of 2022.
Alessandro Michele: The Ex
The former creative director, named Alessandro Michele, joined the company back in 2002. He was not a well-known person in design back then. But soon, he became a major part of the organization. He was in the post of creative director for seven years and made a huge contribution to Gucci, especially during the rise of the company in the market. He was known for the unisex and extravagant style of his designs, most of which were inspired by the Renaissance period. An unforgettable moment from his time was the ramp wear collection of Fall/Winter 2018 when a male model carried a hyperrealistic baby dragon in his hands. He became the beloved Harry Styles’ favorite designer. Starting from his Met Gala look in all black to an entire campaign for him, the client and designer bond the two shared was amazing. He was also the head of collaboration campaigns like that between Gucci and Balenciaga, famously known as the Hacker Project. Another project that he led was the collaboration between Gucci and Adidas. His final project with Gucci will also go down in the history of fashion. It is called “twinning” in Twinsburg. Unfortunately, Alessandro had internal problems with the management of Gucci and had to quit.
Sabato De Sarno
Sabato De Sarno is a name that holds a lot of respect in the fashion industry. Sabato is a famous Italian fashion designer who has seen many luxury brands’ rise and fall very closely. He first entered the industry in 2005 with Prada. A few months later, he started working with Dolce & Gabbana. He decided to yet again change his job when he joined Valentino’s in 2009. He stayed at Valentino’s for a long time, until 2023, when he joined Gucci. He was well-known at Valentino’s, where he worked alongside the famous designer Pierpaolo Piccioli. Piccioli is world famous for his Pantone shade of pink. This shade of pink is named by Pantone as Valentino’s Pink PP. This particular shade was seen in many fast-fashion brands like Zara and H&M. It was first highlighted when Valentino designed an entire outfit for Zendaya, an American actress and television star.
Sabato De Sarno at Gucci
Gucci mainly brought Sabato De Sarno into the entire Kering chain because, firstly, Alexandro Michele resigned in an abrupt manner, and they needed someone very capable to fill his position. Secondly, given the number of brands, companies, and posts that Sabato De Sarno has worked at, he brought along with him a lot of creative ideas. Not only did he have creative ideas, but he also brought a cauldron of experience that was very relevant to the brand, according to Gucci’s management. After the peak of the pandemic around 2021, Gucci saw a loss. The sales were going down, and to revive them and get Gucci back on its feet and in shape, Sabato De Sarno was hired. The official announcement was made by Gucci and its parent company, Kering, on the 28th of January, 2023. An analyst with the famous wealth management company, Bernstein, also gave a statement about the hiring of Gucci. He went ahead and said that he salutes the decision Kering made. Even Sabato De Sarno commented on this situation, saying he was very touched and excited to contribute his creative vision to the brand. He also said that he is very fascinated by the history and heritage that are held by Gucci and how they have welcomed and cherished the values De Sarno believes in. Looking at the changes he made at Valentino and seeing Valentino’s rise to success, he will definitely bring a positive impact to Gucci from an economic as well as creative point of view. The change he brings with him to Kering’s company, Gucci, will be seen for the first time at Milan’s women’s fashion week in September 2023. It is a much-awaited fashion line that Gucci buyers and clients will be waiting for. It is important too because it might be a deciding factor for the future economy of the luxury fashion brand Gucci.
