Gucci returned to the Triennale in Milan where their Men’s SS25 show took place for Women’s SS25. A patent Ancora Red runway (the colour that will symbolise Sabato De Sarno’s tenure at Gucci) flowed through the space as the lighting and decor gradually became redder and redder the further the models walked. In typical De Sarno style, an old Italian disco number, Non voglio mica la luna by Fiordaliso, was pumped into the space.

We are now officially one year into Sabato De Sarno’s reign at Gucci and you can’t say that he hasn’t already made his mark. De Sarno’s Gucci is already recognisable. Apart from the obvious flourish of Ancora Red, he also has a taste for a certain shade of chartreuse green, and loves a simple leather jacket and practical handbag. When he debuted his SS24 collection a year ago, some wondered if the starkness of De Sarno’s designs were the purposeful antithesis of Alessandro Michele’s bombastic floral designs, a heavy-handed signal that there’s a new guy in town. But as we’ve watched his collections over the past year, De Sarno has proven himself to be a lot more playful than he is given credit for. 

Titled Casual Grandeur, De Sarno’s SS25 collection featured great leather skirts that had full zips down the front, paired with leather tops with even more zips. Fingerless leather gloves, with Gucci’s GG logo on the wrist, were a really fun accessory and so too were the fringed handbags. His huge bucket hats gave 1960s summer and, perhaps unsurprisingly, De Sarno has stated that many looks in the collection were inspired by Jackie O, who is very evident in a lot of the more summery looks in the collection. Incredibly fun too were the horsebit loafers that just kept going, crawling up the leg to turn into knee-high boots and, perhaps, the first iteration of the horsebit that could actually be worn while riding a horse.