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Demna Gvasalia, the Georgia-born designer, will become creative director at Gucci, taking the reins as owner Kering tries to reinvigorate its largest brand after a long period of stagnation.
Gucci chief executive Stefano Cantino and Francesca Bellettini, deputy CEO of Kering, said this week that Gvasalia — who goes by the professional name Demna — had been the only choice for Kering, after 10 years as creative director at Kering-owned Balenciaga.
The decision was made “without doubt”, said Cantino, who worked for two decades at Prada and became Gucci boss last summer. “Demna is one of the best creative designers to interpret the contemporary culture.”
Bellettini added: “Gucci performs best whenever you light the sparkle of creativity and artistic vision.”
The appointment is a bold decision for a company trying to turn around its performance, amid a downturn in the luxury goods sector. Gucci accounts for about half of group sales and two-thirds of profits at Kering.
The brand’s sales declined 21 per cent on a reported basis to €7.7bn between 2023 and 2024, while operating income for the full year fell 51 per cent to €1.6bn.
Kering hopes Demna will revitalise Gucci, following last month’s departure of Sabato De Sarno, who had been its creative head for only two years. Demna will take up the role in July.
Kering has been under pressure to find a “named” designer for Gucci, after elevating De Sarno from Valentino, where he was an unknown studio head, into the top position.
“Under Sabato De Sarno, Gucci looked too bland for a brand that has been relevant,” said Luca Solca, a senior analyst at Bernstein covering global luxury goods. “They tried a number two and it didn’t work. Gucci needs a heavyweight creative director, who can get the Gucci consumers excited.”
Demna enjoyed phenomenal success at Balenciaga, with an offering that spanned both couture and popular streetwear. Kering does not break out individual earnings, but under Demna, Balenciaga became the fastest-growing brand in the portfolio.
Among his bestsellers were the giant platform Triple S sneaker, which sells for £825, and a sock-footed Speed trainer. He also had considerable success with his bags, including the Rodeo — which retails from more than £2,000 — and Le City from the 2000s, which he revived last year.
His tenure, however, has not been without controversy: in 2022, the brand became engulfed in a social-media scandal following an advertising campaign that was accused of endorsing child abuse and pornography. The fallout was especially acute in the US, one of the brand’s biggest markets, and contributed to a major dip in sales.
Kering this week brushed off the reputational risk associated with the appointment, insisting that new checks and training systems within the company meant that such crises could not happen again.
Nevertheless, Solca said pushing such a strong fashion agenda and making it “more exciting” meant some risk was inevitable.
Demna arrives at a brand sorely in need of a change in fortunes. Under Alessandro Michele, its creative director from 2015 to 2022, Gucci’s revenues tripled to more than €10.5bn. However, his successor De Sarno delivered only six collections before his departure was announced in February.
Gucci has a number of bestsellers for Demna to work with, including its Jackie bag and its logo belts and horsebit loafers. But it may take time for Demna to show an impact in terms of results.
Speaking with the Financial Times last month, Erwan Rambourg, global head of consumer and retail equity research at HSBC, estimated that it would take at least three years for even the most successful reset to deliver.
