Luxury often positions itself diametrically to the masses. The stance is paradoxical. High fashion relies on desirability while needing exclusivity. It’s a hard line to walk and, even when achieved, it's certainly not sustainable. Overexposure is both an inevitability and the worst sin. It’s a tough game. Luckily, Demna has never played it. He chooses instead to design from the outside, proposing ideas that will question exclusivity itself instead of attempting to conjure it. In what was the Georgian designer’s debut runway show for Gucci, he illustrates his ethos beautifully.
Despite being his first show, Fall/Winter 2026 marks the designer’s third collection for the Italian house. In his first, titled La Famiglia, Demna cast an array of characters, looking to consolidate the different archetypes imagined by his predecessors. It was a rolodex of the ideal client as thought of by the likes of Tom Ford and Alessandro Michele. Here, we see a refreshing evolution of the same concept. The designer conjures classic Gucci prototypes not through the eyes of its creators but through its public perception. Crossbody bags with the house’s characteristic monogram are worn around models with tracksuits. Glittery dresses are (almost) too short. Polos are death-defyingly tight on muscular bodies. The designer is always in on the joke. GG belt buckles and thongs showing peeping in backless dresses: his vision leans into what Gucci is, not what it's imagined to be.
Understandably, Ford’s poltergeist was particularly noticeable as so much of the brand’s public perception still relies on his erotic take on ‘90s minimalism. The American designer’s presence was seen in shrunken blazers or in flared trousers, but perhaps most of all in the collection’s ethos. These aren’t clothes meant to be overintellectualised. They harken to a time where fashion wasn’t expected to comment, to write a dissertation, to defend a thesis – it was meant to be worn, to feel good (or in Ford’s case, sexy).
Despite the already fervent slew of comments ready to undermine what Demna presented – no doubt already typed even before tuning in to the livestream – his technical curiosity is clear as day. Tracksuits drape into dresses, jackets and tops are squished together, leggings are structured into trousers, sneakers and leather shoes become indistinguishable. However, here the goal isn’t simply to expand notions of luxury through experimentation. Unlike at Balenciaga, a maison that’s always been about pushing technical boundaries, Gucci is a brand designed to be desired, craved. In tight leather jackets, fur surrounds the body, trapping the arms. Hot!
The collection’s name, Primavera (Spring in Italian), sums up its feeling perfectly. Slightly paradoxical for a Fall collection, and yet perfectly encapsulating the change it carries. Gucci’s new era is finally consummated, and it's pure sex. What more could we ask for?
Words by Pedro Vasconcelos
