How Demna Put Gucci Back in the Fashion Conversation

Two months into his role at Gucci and it appears Demna understood the assignment.

After two years of tumbling sales and a stalled turnaround under previous creative director Sabato De Sarno, Demna breathed new life into the label this week with two back-to-back spectacles made for the internet age: first, a digital release of a look book Monday — a curated take on the brand archives featuring 37 Gucci-donning “archetypes.”

Then, a buzzy movie premiere Tuesday evening to promote the look book, where a flock of A-listers descended on a red carpet in Milan, each donning one of the ensembles to screen a short film called “Le Tigre,” directed by Spike Jonze and Halina Reijn (whose characters also wore the collection by Demna).

For many, the excitement around the affair surpassed the clothes themselves, which nodded to Gucci’s storied history under various other designers (especially Tom Ford) but also contained plenty of Demna’s own DNA: sculptural collars, exaggerated shoulders, a tinge of distortion in the styling.

The conversation Demna created this week didn’t hinge on the collection — it was his media savvy that turned the look book into an entire cultural moment, which thrust the brand back into the spotlight, without Demna having to design a full collection or present a traditional show. Despite the absence of novel designs, Demna scored instant hype for Gucci while also granting himself time to plan his next moves.

Leveraging the power of the red carpet isn’t new to Demna. For his Balenciaga spring 2021 show, the designer transformed the runway into a red carpet, or vice versa; it was unclear. Akin to performance art, Demna screened a livestream of the red carpet of guests arriving at the “show,” which featured models alongside real attendees, breaking the wall between the artist and the viewer. When the livestream ended, there was a surprise screening of a 10-minute episode of “The Simpsons” about Balenciaga.

Even if the collection — and Tuesday’s stunt — weren’t breaking new ground, Demna made it clear he has a plan for creating a vibe around the brand, with events that can drive renewed excitement, a feat his predecessor struggled to achieve. There’s also something to be said for the sheer speed with which he was able to insert Gucci into the zeitgeist again, if not only for a moment.

Demna himself was clear that the collection is only a preview of what will come in February, when he’ll present his first full runway show.

Rather than the usual lead time of four to six months, the look book pieces were made available immediately in stores. At the brand’s Montenapoleone flagship Friday, customers were already coming to check out the clothes in a space that had been speed-renovated with dark maroon carpets over the weekend. A tiger-striped fur coat worn by Alex Consani at Monday’s event 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 told 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 parent company Kering falling 11 percent following his nomination in March. The brand still has a long way to go, but this week raised hopes that under its new artistic director, Gucci’s great reset is underway.