Gucci finally has a new creative director: Demna, the mononymous designer who made his name at Vetements before his influential and controversial 10-year-run at the helm of Balenciaga.
Kering-owned Gucci has had a series of creative director changes recently. Demna takes over for Sabato de Sarno, who left the brand in February 2025 amid declining sales for Kering’s biggest brand. The recently shown Gucci Fall-Winter 2025 collection was instead designed by the in-house design team without a specific creative director attached. De Sarno led the brand since 2023 when he took over for long-time creative director Alessandro Michele, who has since moved on to Valentino.
Demna’s run at Balenciaga was a success for Kering financially, growing the brand’s annual revenue from around $350 million to over $2 billion over the course of his tenure. But it also came with its share of controversy. An infamous series of dust-ups in 2022 made headlines. They included a campaign involving BDSM and teddy bears that veered into uncomfortable territory and a second campaign that inadvertently included references to child pornography. The blunders, which happened in short succession, led to lawsuits and apologies from both Demna and Kering leadership. It also led Demna himself to pull back from his edgier tendencies in an effort to focus more on the clothes.
But a pot-stirrer may be just what Gucci needs. Under Michele, the brand flourished into one of the largest fashion brands by revenue in Italy. But in the years since Michele left, Gucci has stagnated. Sales at the brand dropped by 23% last year. Demna’s proven financial success as well as his ability to create memorable, headline-grabbing shows and collections, could be a boon for a brand in need of direction.
In a statement shared with Glossy and other publications, Kering CEO François-Henri Pinault said, “Demna’s contribution to the industry, to Balenciaga, and to the Group’s success has been tremendous. His creative power is exactly what Gucci needs.”
