Milan (Italy) (AFP) – Maverick Georgian designer Demna made his debut for Gucci at Milan Fashion Week on Tuesday with a star-studded short film, as the house pledged a “new era” in its history. The 44-year-old took over at the famed Italian fashion house in July after a decade at Balenciaga, charged with helping reverse falling sales. Demna, who goes by one name, said it was too soon for a full catwalk show this season, but launched his vision with a film starring Demi Moore and Edward Norton among a host of stars.
“The Tiger,” directed by acclaimed filmmakers Spike Jonze and Halina Reijn, was shown to a private audience in Milan before being broadcast on social media. The impeccably dressed characters were introduced online on Monday as part of a series of portraits of “La Famiglia,” a humorous look at the Italian family. There was everyone from the arts patron — Moore — to “Miss Aperitivo” — Kendall Jenner — dressed variously in red-carpet gowns, chic daytime outfits, and skimpy underwear.
“To me, all these archetypes represent the Gucci crowd, the customers of Gucci in the future who will each be able to find something in the collection they can relate to,” Demna told fashion outlet WWD in an interview published Monday. The collection, which the label said “marks the genesis of a new Gucci era,” will be on sale at 10 boutiques across the world between September 25 and October 12 only.
At Balenciaga, Demna drove sales sharply higher and grabbed the headlines with often provocative creations. But Gucci is another story. Owned, like Balenciaga, by French luxury group Kering, the Italian house — famed for its handbags — has struggled since the Covid pandemic against a slowing Chinese appetite for luxury goods that has hit the sector hard worldwide. Some analysts have questioned whether Demna’s recipe for success at Balenciaga, which leaned heavily on showmanship and streetwear-influenced design, would work in his new job.
But he dismissed this as “superficial,” telling WWD: “Why would I come to Gucci to do what I’ve done before? If someone thinks that I will come here and do an oversize bomber with a GG monogram, it means they didn’t understand anything about my work until now,” he said. Shares in Kering, which counts on Gucci as its main profit generator, fell around 12 percent on the day of the announcement of Demna’s appointment. However, Kering chief Francois-Henri Pinault has insisted that Demna’s “creative power is exactly what Gucci needs.”
Demna, who dropped his last name, Gvasalia, in 2021, fled war in the Georgian region of Abkhazia as a child. He achieved early notoriety with his $2,000 “Ikea” bag, a luxury leather version of the 99-cent original. He followed it up with a $1,800 garbage bag — the so-called “trash pouch” — in a show in March 2022 that was dedicated to Ukrainian refugees. His public image took a hit later that year when he was forced to apologize for an ad campaign that appeared to reference child abuse and had underage models in what looked like bondage gear.
The designer, who co-founded the label Vetements with his brother in 2014 before joining Balenciaga, has plenty of fans among celebrities and influencers. “Demna’s great strength is capturing what people want,” commented Alix Morabito, buying director for womenswear at France’s Galeries Lafayette department stores.
© 2024 AFP
