Over the past few months, fashion has been full of surprises, with designers and brands moving forward, but it has certainly not been expected that Sabato de Sarno will leave Gucci. This morning, news broke that Derno, who was creative director of an Italian fashion house for just two years, would be resigning. His departure comes two years after he took over Alessandro Michele in the role.
Before joining Gucci, De Sarno had a prominent career as fashion director for Valentino, where he oversaw both male and female collections. He also worked for Dolce & Gabbana and Prada in the early 2000s. Gucci CEO Stefano Cantino shared his gratitude in a statement, saying, “I would like to express my deep gratitude to Sabato for his passion and dedication to Gucci. He is a Gucci craftsman with such a commitment. I am truly grateful for how I praised my skills and heritage.”
As for the next step for the brand, the Fall/Winter ’25 show held in Milan on February 25th will be unveiled by the Gucci Design Office, with a new artistic direction coming “soon.”
De Sarno’s departure coincides with Gucci’s sales struggle, adding fuel to online speculation about who will intervene. Are you Marc Jacobs, Headislimane, Maria Graziatiuli? Gucci’s efforts to move away from travel retail and entry-level products such as sneakers, hoodies and mini bags make it difficult to build traction quickly enough to offset the decline in other parts of the business faced with.
Gucci reported a 21% decline in sales in 2024. This reflects a broader slowdown in luxury demand, with brands like Gucci that are accessible even when heading towards fashion, were the most violent hits. Kering, the parent company of Gucci, will release its annual results on February 11th. All eyes become the next eye in the iconic fashion house.
