Is Sabato De Sarno Of Gucci The Kind Of Creative Director That Fashion Needs Right Now?

Sabato De Sarno is a designer who believes in letting his work do the talking. And what he believes in is evidently clothes for people who – however glamorous they might seem – lead real lives; the kind that involves going out and about be it for work or leisure, and getting s**t done. 

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Consider the opening look in Gucci’s Spring Summer 2024 women’s runway show – his debut at the Italian label: a swishy coat with peak lapels worn over a plain white low-cut tank top and a pair of tailored hot shorts. To accessorise it: a chunky chain necklace that’s been christened the Marina, and the brand’s evergreen Jackie hobo bag in a beguiling shade of oxblood touted as a new house colour dubbed Rosso Ancora (or “red again” in English). Other standouts include a backless apron top trimmed in oversized crystals – paired with slouchy jeans guaranteed to be on every fashion editor’s must-have list this season – and ultra-roomy utilitarian jackets thrown over slinky lace slip dresses or patent leather pencil skirts. 

These are effectively clothes you could imagine on say, Kendall Jenner (who was in the audience at said show) on a night out with friends as much as you could on that enviably stylish office colleague of yours: solidly chic staples that form the foundation of one’s wardrobe and that allow one to live life unencumbered. It helps that De Sarno’s injected a just-so dose of sultriness (see the thigh-high slits on those pencil skirts, or the extra-short shorts and dresses) – a quality intrinsic to Gucci’s DNA that some might say had been missing in its years under Alessandro Michele, De Sarno’s predecessor. 

Of course, it was Tom Ford who made the brand synonymous with sexy. In a way, De Sarno’s own fashion journey started with Ford: The boyish 40-year-old had previously shared that the first luxury item he bought was a Ford-designed Gucci red velvet jacket, which he afforded by selling a necklace that his parents had gifted to him. How’s that for a touching return to the beginning?

Suddenly, the word ancora – Italian for “again” and the rallying cry for De Sarno’s great Gucci reveal (the whole collection is referred to as Gucci Ancora, and Mark Ronson produced an infectious remix of a ’70s Italian pop tune titled Ancora, ancora, ancora for the show soundtrack) – makes so much sense. In Italy, the term ancora is often used when describing something so good, one can’t get enough of it. Presumably this was the sensation De Sarno experienced when he first encountered Gucci as a youth – and one he hopes to share today as its creative honcho with new generations of consumers. 

“It’s a story of the joy of life, of passion, of humanity, of people, of real life, of irreverent glamour… a story of music and nights out; of sweat, dancing and singing. It’s a story of family, of kissing – lots and lots of kisses. It’s a story of everything again, but this time expressed through joy,” reads the official notes on Gucci’s Spring Summer 2024 collection. It’s a mood that’s also been captured in every campaign that’s been released since De Sarno was put in charge last year. 

Think the images of a fresh-faced Daria Werbowy lounging in little else but jewellery and a pair of bikini bottoms by the pool of the Chateau Marmont to tease about his runway debut on Instagram; the Gucci Gift campaign that featured both hetero and same-sex couples making merry (and in some cases making out); or the ads featuring then-celebrity couple Kendall Jenner and Bad Bunny gambolling inside an airport to promote the label’s travel accessories. In each case, the subjects came across as folks caught in the moment of living – and having a lot of fun.

This simple, heartfelt approach runs counter to much of the high-falutin spiel that tends to characterise the fashion industry – De Sarno is not one to mythologise himself or his work. “It’s important to have a point of view, but everyone must be able to understand it,” he says in an interview with the trade publication Women’s Wear Daily. 

Make no mistake though. What appears simple on the surface can often require more skill to perfect and De Sarno can be said to be an engineer of the highest order. Take the outerwear in Gucci’s Spring Summer 2024 collection for example. To achieve their rounded silhouettes, he had reportedly analysed the width of the threads used to craft them (coats are his weakness and he professes to have more than 200 in his personal collection). 

De Sarno’s realist approach comes at a timely moment, especially given how the sombre global events of recent years have gnawed away at the appetite for most fashion pomp and drama. Plucked from Valentino where he had been the right-hand man to Pierpaolo Piccioli for 14 years, his story is that of the classic small town boy made good: De Sarno hails from the commune of Cicciano in Naples and earned his stripes over 20 years, working his way up at houses like Prada and Dolce & Gabbana. At Valentino, he held various positions before eventually becoming the fashion director of both men’s and women’s ready-to-wear in 2020.

In previous interviews, he has shared that he’s a designer who adores the making process over any sort of pontification. “I’m not a person that loves the idea of fashion. I really love fashion itself,” he told press at Gucci’s Fall Winter 2024 men’s show this January. “I love to design pieces and choose materials. I love to work with fabrics. I love to work with our customers and find solutions. I am a working creative director. I don’t just spend the day telling my staff ‘I like this’ or ‘I don’t like that’ and leave them to do it. That would be easier, but I’d find it boring.” 

Some might call such a way of working old-school especially when fashion has become so enmeshed with pop culture – just look at the spate of celebrities playing creative directors in recent years. Yet such old-schoolness helps burnish Gucci with a certain sense of humanity – no easy feat for a luxury fashion house often listed as Italy’s largest.

And now that he’s been uplifted, he’s looking to do the same for others. See how the cast of the Gucci Ancora Spring Summer 2024 show was made up largely of new faces: emerging, if not unknown names in the modelling scene such as Ana Ross, Fadia Ghaab, Jiahui Zhang, Nyajuok Gatdet and Violet Hume. These same neophytes have also been selected to front the collection’s campaign. Says De Sarno in an interview with i-D magazine: “I wanted to give the opportunity to a young girl to be a model for a big name like Gucci… It could literally change her life.” 

Behind the lens was industry veteran David Sims, the first photographer De Sarno worked with when he joined the industry – the man sure knows how to square the future with the past. The overall mood? Sleek yet pared back with every girl looking ready to walk off the pages (or screen) and onto the streets. In a recent interview with GQ, he says: “I love when you see the people under the clothes, not the clothes on the people. I don't like to see people wear a Gucci outfit… You completely lose the humanity and personality… Fashion is real life. It is day wear. It is everyday looks.” Ancora!

This article first appeared in the March 2024 Celebrity Edition of FEMALE