Gucci Keeps It Short: everything you need to know about SS2025 collection

All eyes were on Alessandro Michele this weekend after the former Gucci mastermind presented his first collection for new employer Valentino unannounced. Not with a show, but with a 172-page lookbook for the brand’s upcoming, unabashedly bohemian precollection.

A bit of a shame pity — and also, maybe, a wake-up call — for Gucci, which was to unveil its SS25 men’s collection just a few hours later.

Following in Michele’s footsteps was never going to be an easy task for Sabato de Sarno. Michele might have frustrated Gucci owner Kering’s financial departments (and at least some fashion lovers). But he was still a beloved designer when he suddenly left the brand last year. Along with Balenciaga’s Demna, Michele will one day be seen as one of the defining designers of his era generation. A fashion heavyweight.

De Sarno, ironically, used to work behind the scenes at Valentino with Pier Paolo Piccioli. This might explain why Gucci now looks somewhat like Valentino, while Valentino is being Guccified.

Yesterday’s show in the Triennale Design Museum was De Sarno’s second menswear show for Gucci. It was, like his previous outings, slick and contemporary — several shapes and colours hinted at Prada.

One of the most-shared photos and videos on social media showed a model in lacquered short shorts in “Ancora” red. This was proof, at last, that De Sarno knows how to do sexy.

Historically, Gucci has always been a “rich” brand: brash, fun, and tacky. There’s nothing wrong with De Sarno’s restrained, toned-down aesthetics per se, but they do seem a strange fit for a brand that is big and loud and “Hollywood”.

In short, that sudden burst of sexy was welcome.

And De Sarno did open up this time. The collection, which had surfing as its main theme, was definitely energetic — among the highlights: bowling shirts with hibiscus and dolphin prints, sequined see-through pink polo shirts, a lot of acid greens, oranges and purples, and more of those short shorts, including on front row star Paul Mescal, who were his black and white striped boxers with an untucked blue shirt.

Courtesy: Gucci

Text: Jesse Brouns