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.

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”.