A love letter to the British capital, Alia Bhatt in a goth-Barbie look and the strapings of Sabato De Sarno as we review the Gucci Cruise 2025 show in London.
During his time working as a porter at The Savoy Hotel in London, Guccio Gucci conceptualised the idea of a luxury luggage brand. Returning to Florence he established his high-end leather goods company, one that is now the topic of all conversations as it previews its Cruise 2025 collection in the British capital. The Gucci Cruise 2025 show has been gaining media frenzy for three reasons – the location aka Tate Modern museum in London, Sabato De Sarno’s new vision for the brand and of course, Alia Bhatt in a strapless chocolate brown bodycon dress that she enhanced with a dark red lip and slicked-back hair. The Gucci Blondie bag in Alia Bhatt’s hand was a fresh iteration of the iconic style launched at the Cruise 2025 show.
Why London?
“To explore a creative direction is to bring yourself into an already-existing space and show it through your eyes, working from room to room with the goal of re-shaping the building again. We chose London for the Gucci Cruise show, knowing that was the right choice. I owe a lot to this city, it has welcomed and listened to me. The same is true for Gucci, whose founder was inspired by his experience there,” shared Sabato De Sarno, confirming the deep connection between him, Gucci, and London. The venue, Tate Modern, perfectly capsulated the aesthetic and mindset that Sarno is trying to bring to Gucci. The underground concrete exhibition space juxtaposed the rich foliage which the brand brought in, many of which will be donated to community projects in London, including the not-for-profit organisation, Grow to Know.
Dichotomies of design at the Gucci Cruise 2025 show
At the show, De Sarno talks about the collection having a certain “English-ness with an Italian accent”. Further expanding to talk about the dual nature of the Cruise collection whereby it incorporates rigour with extravagance, strength with delicacy and propriety with provocation. Unlike his predecessor, Sarno takes a more minimalistic, modern approach to design and this time around he elevates the same with a bit of embellishment. We see tailored garments with wild chamomile flora motifs, flower embroideries, 3-D laser-cut in organza, chiffons, ruffles, lace and a lot of everyday evening extravagance. He also borrows elements of British style – tartans, tailoring and mixes them with emblems of the house that allude to the 70s. The Gucci Blondie bag worn by Alia Bhatt is a prime example of this with its emblematic logo taking the stage.
The show was also De Sarno’s first Cruise presentation for Gucci and his third collection for the House in the past eight months. It ups the ante of what is in store for the Florentine label and perhaps brings back some of the original Gucci gang to the mix.
All Images: Courtesy Gucci.
