Gucci London cruise show mixes ‘strength with delicacy’

The last time Gucci showed in London it was at Westminster Abbey in 2016, in the early honeymoon days of Alessandro Michele’s tenure at the label. But this time, under Sabato De Sarno, the venue couldn’t have been more different. From the Abbey that celebrates everything traditional in British life to Tate Modern, which is all about new, new, and more new.

It was a suitable backdrop for a headline-grabbing experience. And headline-grabbing Gucci really is. The label’s sale may have faltered of late, but it remains the huge draw it has been since the Tom Ford days.

The front row (dressed in a mix of SS24 and AW24) underlined that fact with Dua Lipa in a black logo-embossed leather jacket with shorts; Kate Moss in a black lingerie look made more practical by a black coat; Lila Moss in buttery yellow tailored shorts suit; Debbie Harry (also given a starring role via the show’s soundtrack) wearing impossibly high platform shoes; Salma Hayek in a curvy one-shoulder black satin dress; Demi Moore (complete with tiny dog) in a semi-sheer slip dress; Eiza González in the label’s statement-making AW24 sequinned coat with shorts; Andrew Scott with the logos kept to a minimum (a double G logo belt); Daisy Edgar-Jones in neat caramel-coloured leather; and Solange Knowles celebrating total transparency in camo-toned lace.

So, what’s De Sarno’s vision for cruise 2025? He spoke of “dichotomies: rigour and extravagance strength in delicacy, Englishness with an Italian accent… Codes of dressing — of propriety and properness — here are subverted, used as a means of provocation.”

What that meant in practice was an eminently wearable collection with enough in there to suit every generation from affluent Gen-Z embracing a touch of retro, transparency, embellishment, mini dresses, and a relaxed edge, through to sedate (or not-so-sedate) Baby Boomers picking boxy jackets, gauzy blouses, neat cropped pants or slim skirts.

The overall silhouette was either wide and roomy (loose warm weather coats and jackets, slouchy jeans, retro blousons, or fluid plissé not-quite-red-carpet gowns), or neat and boxy (driven by the jacket as the key item). Much of it came in fresh sorbet shades paired with Gucci neutrals. 

As for pattern — it was all about the chamomile floral motif or the check. The florals came as embroideries, prints, appliqués or wovens for neat coats and jackets, dresses, jeans and more.

And the checks offered up a surprising pop of movement and shimmer. Day morphed into evening as technical gabardine in the sharpest checks contrasted with fringed sequins, also intricately assembled to form the same check.

The all-important accessories, meanwhile, were dominated by giant shoulder bags (that looked like they’d eaten Alice in Wonderland’s growth cake), or by the 1970s Blondie bag and by oversized shoppers. Meanwhile, shoes were universally flat from ballerinas to creepers.

So why was it all shown in London at Tate Modern, in particular? After all, it’s not a shock venue (like the Abbey was) as it has hosted shows before from Topshop to Christopher Kane. But Gucci has a cultural partnership with the Tate to boost young creatives. Plus, of course, more modernist and less opulent venues are a ‘thing’ at the moment.

But it was also a great backdrop to show the contrasts Sabato De Sarno was working with for the collection with the raw concrete of the Turbine Hall decorated for the occasion with living greenery.

And London? De Sarno said in the show notes: “I owe a lot to this city. It has welcomed and listened to me. That same is true for Gucci, whose founder was inspired by his experience there.” 

He also spoke of “its creative driving force with its limitless capacity to put together contrasts, make them converse and find ways to coexist.” And that statement also summed up the collection. So what more can a Londoner say than “nice one, Sabato.”