As the sun set over the River Thames on Monday night, London’s favorite supermodel Kate Moss struck a pose for the mob of paparazzi gathered outside the soaring industrial heft of the Tate Modern. A stream of stars soon followed, including Dua Lipa, Paul Mescal, Debbie Harry, Solange Knowles and Demi Moore, her tiny Chihuahua Pilaf tucked under her arm like a handbag. They had gathered for Gucci and its creative director, Sabato De Sarno. The budget — and the stakes — could not have been bigger as he presented his debut cruise collection.

Gucci is one of the most recognizable fashion brands in the world, generating almost 10 billion euros (about $10.8 billion) in revenue last year. But Gucci has been scrambling to recover after a sobering drop in its fortunes in recent years. The impact for Kering, its parent company, is considerable given that Gucci is responsible for half of the organization’s sales and two-thirds of its profit. Last month, Kering reported that Gucci had a sales slump of almost 20 percent in the last quarter, leading to a rare profit warning and sliding share price.

This is not the fault of Mr. De Sarno, who was appointed 15 months ago and whose designs have only recently started arriving in stores following his Milan Fashion Week debut in September. However, the critical reception of his men’s and women’s wear collections — with a pared-back focus on crisp, contemporary silhouettes and accessories — has been muted, the concern being that he is too safe and straightforward. Certainly, they are less flamboyant than those of his predecessor, Alessandro Michele. But will the fashion industry and its increasingly jittery investors give Mr. De Sarno and his more minimal-leaning vision more time to rebuild the Gucci juggernaut?

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/14/style/gucci-london-cruise-collection.html