Italian fashion is all about family. Run by owners who hire designers who often work for several of these owners which then brings about a giant network of interlinked people. Then of course the entire Italian culture is built on the foundation of family. Hence, the first taste of Gucci by Demna is called La Famiglia and was dropped surprisingly yesterday morning. It should be remarked that the former Gucci family member Alessandro Michele utilized the same surprise playbook for his first Valentino collection on the day of a Gucci show in June 2024. After all those two like sharing ideas as their Gucci “hacking” Balenciaga outing in 2021 demonstrated.

The idea behind it that after a boring New York and London season the press is hungry and with so many upcoming debuts – feed them first. And Demna did with a rather brilliant Catherine Opie shot look book of clothes that marry rather absurdly a feathered opera coat with swimwear. Demna shows his Kering provenance with an all-floral cinched waist, floor length gown and proves he understands Italian with a demure tightly tailored gold button red coat. He has range so to say which Michele has been sadly lacking. The only reference we spotted was Tom Ford’s Gucci with black leather worn on nude torsos.

Defining Italian chic and bringing back the luggage DNA of Gucci is what Demna starts out his Gucci adventure with and the fact that these pieces are immediately dropped in ten stores worldwide underline the urgency of his mission. These pieces feel fresh to a house that has gone stale.