The first looks from Gucci’s artistic director, Demna, were dropped on the house’s Instagram account yesterday.
Gucci’s new artistic director, Demna, doesn’t waste time, following in the footsteps of new Kering boss Luca de Meo. The house just dropped a 37-look collection named La Famiglia on its Instagram on the eve of Milan Fashion Week and of Gucci’s much-anticipated presentation. The latter will come in the format of a film titled The Tiger, directed by Spike Jonze and Halina Reijn and starring Demi Moore.
The timing of the lookbook (shot by Catherine Opie) posted on the house’s Instagram account, which has been wiped out for the occasion, took the fashion world by surprise on the last day of London Fashion Week (with Burberry on the schedule), kicking off the series of designer debuts in Milan and Paris a day earlier than expected.
“The collection named La Famiglia marks Gucci’s return to storytelling, going back to the future by way of the past, defining the aesthetic based upon which Demna’s Gucci vision will be built, leading up to his first show in February [for the Autumn/Winter 2026 season],” reads the press release. La Famiglia will be available exclusively in 10 Gucci stores (New York, Los Angeles, Beijing, Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo, Seoul, London, Milan and Paris) from 25 September to 12 October.
It’s not a total surprise. Gucci’s new CEO, Francesca Bellettini, said during the Q2 earnings call that while the full collection will be available in stores from the beginning of January, certain outposts will begin receiving new designs as early as September. In the same call, she insisted on the importance of a regular injection of novelty in the store: “There is also going to be a Christmas capsule that has already been worked on by the team. There is gonna be a project for Chinese New Year. I just would love everybody to defocus a little bit on the collection of Demna. There is a company, there is a brand, and there is constant work of all the team, in presenting new collections and new products and working on the carryover,” she noted.
It’s essential for Gucci to come up quickly with a strong message. Bellettini and Demna have the big task of turning around the group’s largest house, which has been lagging compared to its peers in a challenging market. In the second quarter, sales were down 25 per cent to €1.46 billion, after a 25 per cent decrease in Q1. Gucci’s sales were €7.7 billion in 2024, down from €10.49 billion in 2022.
It’s unclear what season La Famiglia is designed for, but it looks like a winter collection. Gucci declined to specify when Vogue Business reached out. They also did not comment on whether there will be more looks presented in the film on Tuesday, and whether another part of the collection will arrive in stores in January, following the traditional model.
Fashion observers are so far reacting positively to the co-ed lookbook of Gucci characters, which the house describes as a “study of the Gucciness of Gucci”. There’s a sense of humour and irony in the archetypes created, which include “Bastardo”, “La bomba”, “La V.I.C.”, “L’influencer” or “Androgino”, which is reminiscent of the Tom Ford era. The collection also features a number of accessories, including the revisited Gucci Bamboo 1947 and loafers, which will be key in the house’s turnaround.
“It’s a borghese [bourgeois] version of Demna, with very clear silhouettes”, says fashion consultant Dryce Lahssan. “Demna is a master of storytelling. Everyone can relate to a character of the Gucci family. With this first collection, he is taking ownership of Gucci’s heritage; reinvention has not yet begun. Still, it marks an exciting moment for the house.”
There is a lot of pressure on Gucci’s revival,” says Benjamin Simmenauer, professor at Institut Français de la Mode. “It’s clear that this first creative step is meant to reassure people and perhaps investors that Demna is capable of adapting his style to something less radical. There are prints and silhouettes that evoke Tom Ford and Alessandro Michele, and this collection leans heavily into the archives.”
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This article was originally published on Vogue.com.
