Gucci has named Sabato De Sarno, a close associate of Valentino designer Pierpaolo Piccioli, its new creative director. He will present his first collection for Gucci in September, the brand said in a statement.
Rome-based De Sarno joined Valentino in 2009 after holding roles at Prada and Dolce & Gabbana. Since rising to the role of Valentino’s fashion director, overseeing its men’s and women’s ready-to-wear collections, De Sarno has become a fixture at the brand’s events around the world, but remains unknown to the fashion consuming public.
The move sees Gucci owner Kering once again elevating a behind-the-scenes figure to lead one of its brands. De Sarno’s predecessor at Gucci, Alessandro Michele, who departed the brand last November, had been an unknown veteran of Gucci’s studio before leading a historic expansion, starting in 2015.
Kering has been under pressure to identify a successor to Michele, whose hit maximalist aesthetic helped the brand to nearly triple annual sales to almost €10 billion and quadruple profits.
The brand recently promised investors to stay in the spotlight with a full return to the fashion calendar — showing its collections 6 times a year — making the creative vacancy even more urgent to fill.
De Sarno has “vast and relevant experience,” Gucci chief executive Marco Bizzarri said in a statement. “He will lead our creative teams with a distinctive vision that will help write this exciting next chapter, reinforcing the house’s fashion authority while capitalising on its rich heritage.”
Stay tuned to BoF for updates on this developing story.
