Show Notes: Gucci’s Mens Fall/Winter 2024
The first menswear collection by Gucci's new creative director Sabato de Sarno reiterated the brand's "Ancora" message.
When: January 12
Where: The historic foundry Fonderia Carlo Macchi in Milan. According to media interviews conducted before the show, Gucci's new creative director Sabato De Sarno liked the black box he had built (for his inaugural women's show last September) so much (its simplicity allowed for people to focus on the clothes) that he recreated the box and set it at Fonderia Carlo Macchi.
The takeaway: The 56-look collection was in many ways, a doubling down of De Sarno's very first collection for Gucci - the women's Spring/Summer 2024 range we saw last September. According to the press release, the men's Fall/Winter 2024 collection was all about enjoying life as people really live it; "a story of objects - shiny, tactile and cold to the touch but warm to the heart and soul, these are desirable to collect, not for a museum but to enrich everyday life."
The doubling down was manifested in almost every aspect of the show, including yes the black box and an almost-identical Mark Ronson-directed soundtrack - if you've seen the Gucci women's Spring/Summer 2024 show, you might be thinking many of the men's looks felt similar and you wouldn't be wrong. The opening looks in both collections were "mirrored" (the brand's term), as well as the men's look 15 (women's look 16); men's look 35 (women's look 28); men's look 34 (women's look 27); men's look 41 (women's look 29); and men's look 17 (women's look 18).
To that end, the men's show came across as a more convincing messenger of De Sarno's vision for Gucci (the extra four months of prep time surely helped) - less gimmicky compared to his predecessor and more focused on wardrobe staples such as polished ultra-long coats, with a side serving of fun (think the bedazzled jackets, tank tops and the rakish silk cravats).
The things we are eyeing: De Sarno's strength as a merchandiser is getting clearer with each new collection. There are the new men's version of Gucci's evergreen Jackie bag - rendered extra-large and can be worn as a messenger (looks 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 20, 26, 30, 31, 34, 38, 40, 41, 45, 48, 49); the sharp coats (looks 9, 10, 28, 29, 32, 41, 42, 50, 53, 56); and a slouchy hobo bag that's yet to be named (looks 13, 15, 16, 17, 25, 35).
The looks: