With Sabato De Sarno’s surprise exit from the brand earlier this month, this season’s Gucci show was left in the capable hands of the in-house design team. This was the design team’s second outing in as many years as they also helmed the FW23 show after Alessandro Michele’s equally as shocking departure. Looking at both FW23 and FW25 in tandem, you almost wish the Gucci design team could take the wheel for a couple of seasons.

Instead of looking towards an uncertain future, the team stuck closely to Gucci’s archives. Many of the collection’s initial looks were distinctly 1970s, the models looking like they stepped out of a Roxy Music album cover with their lace tops and fur coats. Elsewhere, lavenders and lime greens, a usually pretty garish colour combination, worked beautifully in contrasting coats and skirts. There was also a kinky reimagining of the house’s horsebit icon as a long necklace, or perhaps it could also be styled as a tie.

It must also be noted that we finally have a trend alert for this season. Velvet and velour are most definitely in and, in this collection, we saw a number of velvet dresses rendered in burnt oranges, earthy browns and luxurious grey, naturally studded in double-G rhinestones.

For the menswear (yes, this was a rare co-ed show for Gucci), it was a suited-and-booted affair. The current trend of boxy, 80s silhouettes continued with some monochromatic single-breasted suits styled with either full shirt and tie or a pastel-coloured turtleneck. Many of the men sported new bags, including a new take on the classic Horsebit 1955 as a slouched shoulder bag. The men’s looks were a lot simpler than the women’s but it is notable how conservative they were, perhaps the biggest departure from the aesthetic of sexiness that De Sarno tried to bring to the house.

In fact, it’s notable how little De Sarno is in any of this collection overall. The majority of the looks were a lot more reminiscent of the Michele years. Although, that makes sense as this was a collection inspired by the archive and Michele is a designer who always looked to the past to look forward. There is still no word on who will be taking the reins at Gucci as rumours continue to circle. But if this in-house collection was anything to go by, we hope they take their time and allow this team to flourish.