Style, management and communication. These are the three main pillars of Gucci’s next chapter. The countdown has started, and the fashion system’s spotlights are now on the Kering-owned Italian brand, whose future path designed by new creative director Sabato De Sarno will finally be unveiled during the upcoming Milan Fashion Week.
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After parting ways with its former creative director Alessandro Michele last November and its CEO Marco Bizzarri in July, the €10.5 billion company is ready to begin a new era. And if tons of paper and galaxies of pixels are now what it takes for insiders to forecast Gucci’s new CEO, the Italian mega-label has already announced other striking shifts.
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What is changing at Gucci? After stepping down as Valentino’s chief brand officer in July, Istituto Marangoni Milano mentor Alessio Vannetti has just returned to Gucci to head up marketing operations as the house’s Executive Vice President and Chief Brand Officer. At the same time, US-based marketing veteran Susan Chokachi was reported by BoF and other major publications as exiting Gucci after leading the brand’s marketing since the departure of Robert Triefus at the end of April.
So, what are Gucci’s new challenges? Finding a fresh, new image for the brand to reach the top again. Fashion analysts have noted that Gucci’s collections have been too ‘lazy’ and repetitive in recent years, leading to a decline in consumer interest and sales and causing some concern among investors. But things might change very soon.
All in the industry can’t wait for Sabato De Sarno’s Gucci to hit the catwalk – all bets are off
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On September 22, the world will finally discover Gucci’s new stylistic path. De Sarno’s debut show will be on a Friday, and – it goes without saying – after the era of former Gucci creative director Alessandro Michele, expectations are sky-high. Before De Sarno, creative directors Tom Ford, Frida Giannini, and Michele had each managed to break through with results that were thought of as unbeatable.
With an impressive CV, Sabato De Sarno’s well-established career in ready-to-wear began in 2005 when he joined Prada; he then moved on to Dolce&Gabbana as head designer of the knitwear and jersey department before becoming Pierpaolo Piccioli’s right-hand man at Valentino in 2009.
And now we all can’t wait for De Sarno’s first fashion show at Gucci, which could take place in the heart of Milan near the Brera Academy, according to a recent De Sarno Instagram post – all bets are off.
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Recently, a small taste of the brand’s fresh aesthetic came from the new creative director, who shared on his Instagram some images of an upcoming Gucci campaign featuring supermodel Daria Werbowy taken by photographer David Sims at the Chateau Marmont hotel in Beverly Hills, California. “Daria, we started together in this business in 2003, and here you are with me at the beginning of this new adventure,” De Sarno wrote as a caption to his IG post, referring to the 39-year-old Canadian-Ukrainian fashion queen who formally ‘retired’ in 2016.
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“The model is pictured poolside wearing nothing but a black GG swimsuit and statement gold jewellery. Of course, this isn’t the model’s first Gucci ad —she previously fronted Tom Ford’s 2004 campaign for the Italian brand,” pointed out W magazine. “The lowkey feel of de Sarno’s visual leans more towards the sensual minimalism of Ford than the over-the-top maximalism of his predecessor, Alessandro Michele.”
After the astute business brain of Marco Bizzarri, who will be Gucci’s next CEO?
But the wind of change is also blowing in the upper echelons of management. September 22 will not only be the first official day of the De Sarno chapter but also the last day of Marco Bizzarri’s leadership.
At the end of July, the Kering group made another big statement, announcing that Gucci’s president and CEO, Marco Bizzarri, will leave the Maison effective 23 September.
Bizzarri has spearheaded Gucci’s extraordinary growth strategy since 2015, successfully holding positions in other Kering group entities, and personally tapped Alessandro Michele to realise his brand’s vision.
Jean-François Palus, who currently serves as Kering’s managing director, will take over on a transitional basis – the French parent company stated that Palus was “tasked with strengthening Gucci’s teams and operations” in an effort to rebuild the Italian brand’s “influence and momentum.” Kering Chairman and CEO François-Henri Pinault commented that Palus will ‘focus his energies on getting our largest asset in top shape.”
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The search for a leader, therefore, continues. Some rumours see a potential candidate in Maureen Chiquet, a manager with more than 35 years of experience in the fashion and luxury goods sector, including nine years as Global CEO of Chanel. She has just joined Kering’s Board of Directors as an independent director.
I’M mentor, Alessio Vannetti, will be the man behind the future of Gucci’s marketing operations
Last but not least, Gucci’s revolution is also about communication and marketing departments. Recently, Gucci announced the appointment of Alessio Vannetti as their Executive Vice President and Chief Brand Officer.
This can be considered a great comeback for the manager who held the role of Worldwide Communications Director at Gucci from 2015 to 2019, as the IM students from Fashion & Luxury Brand Management Master’s programme learnt when Vannetti met them as an Istituto Marangoni Milano mentor.
Valentino’s Chief Brand Officer Alessio Vannetti launching his Mentorship Programme at Istituto Marangoni Milano
In recent years, he served as Chief Brand Officer at Valentino, but his resume includes roles at Prada as Senior Press Office Manager and Special Projects from 2005 to 2013, and Zegna where he worked as WW Communications Director from 2013 to 2014. Interestingly, he started his remarkable career as a Communications Assistant at Costume National in 1999.
Alessio Vannetti with Istituto Marangoni students from the Fashion & Luxury Brand Management Master’s course
So what now? The best is yet to come as he is currently a mentor at Istituto Marangoni, where he guides students of the Fashion & Luxury Brand Management Master’s programme on market analysis and brand strategy methods.
A fashion veteran, Vanetti has been part of almost every major movement in the industry, from Prada’s avant-garde vision to Gucci’s transformation under Alessandro Michele.
Gucci’s new communication team also includes Istituto Marangoni’s alumna and journalist Federica Salto who, after an experience as Senior Fashion News Editor at Vogue Italia with Francesca Ragazzi, has joined the brand as Head of Creative Office Communication.
