“unfortunately sabato de sarno knows exactly how to win me over at gucci…” 

This, a direct quote from a text I sent to a friend this morning, accompanied by an Instagram reel highlighting a clip of Gucci’s Spring Summer 2025 menswear show, “Modern Love” by David Bowie rocking in the background. 

As a long time fan of Alessandro Michele and his seven year long reign at the Italian fashion house, it felt impossible that I would ever enjoy the famed double G and whoever would sit at the helm again. Dramatic? Yes. Real as hell? I think so. 

Fashion has long been a fickle industry, something that has been true for ages before my birth and footsteps into the industry and will remain true long after we are all gone. There was something magically whimsical, even dreamlike about Michele’s Gucci– like he was pulling concepts and design elements from the hazy, nostalgia drenched edges of your brain, long forgotten until he made it a point to remind you. Reminding you– and me, and everyone else– to open our minds and hearts to wild and wacky dreams seeped in imagery of identical twins and floating heads and seventies geek chic, to name a few. 

de Sarno, as far as I have been able to tell, is none of that. And thank god! Change is what Gucci wanted, and change is what they got. Being an avid fashion watcher– obviously, why else would i be writing this, and you reading it– I've seen de Sarno’s work from afar, catching runway clips on social media, pieces in the pages of a magazine, and so on. A friendly distance, maybe out of subconscious respect for his predecessor. Maybe all it took was some Bowie? 

Whatever the motivation, I found myself opening up my laptop (post-muffin breakfast), fingers whizzing on the keyboard to find the Gucci menswear stream from earlier this morning at the Triennale Milano. 

Reader, I was so pleasantly surprised. 

de Sarno’s preface for these clothes, citing “encounters- incontri- between the city and the beach, and among people who love life” as inspiration, is immediately visible. The swarms of Gucci-clad onlookers, buzzing with electricity and hope, can be seen on camera- looking every bit the cool crowd they are meant to be, but also significantly human, smiling and interacting before the show even begins. 

Correspondingly, the camera pan to the outside world and the words “la misura dell’amore è amare senza misura” emblazoned on the ground (“the measure of love is to love without measure” for those still relying on duolingo italia) braced me to enjoy what was about to come down the runway. 

Models descended a circular staircase to upbeat rock, slinking past guests in springlike, pastel leather; crisp but simultaneously lighthearted tailoring; and multiple iterations of layered patterns and pastels, silhouettes ranging from seductively fitted to perfectly bulky– leaving room for a little slouch. 

The slightly oversized floral and geometric patterned shirts were the main event for me: the tan and punched-up lilac version, beaded florals besides, feels like the corner Gucci was hoping to turn has been, well… turned. It's a little flair of funk that feels increasingly new as more and more models reprise the design. The tasseled shirts, too, felt timely and in perfect coordination with the florals, providing steady movement for a collection that could have run away with the beat without it. 

that’s not all, either. The double-level handheld bags, reminiscent of airport-chic luggage, are eye-catching without taking away from what’s happening upstairs on the body; coming in jet black, cherry burgundy, and chartreuse was exactly what was necessary. 

Now zoom in on the feet– look 38 is where footwear shifts from staple pointed-toe chelsea boots and walkable, color coordinated sneaks to a conspicuous rounded slip-on, evocative of  ballet flats. a good balance from the focus on tailored edges and strong silhouettes, especially when you consider the climate still impacted by a few seasons marked by ultra feminine detail. 

A refreshed sense of cool; that’s the way I would describe this collection. Designs that are minimalistic in nature and spirit, but only in a way that doesn’t miss out on trying something new just for kicks. It feels like the kind of lineup that fashion fans want to see right now, as we sit on the edge of summer- fantastically alive, but taking our time with it. Twinged with cool, too- the overwhelming presence of aviators on faces, complete with wraparound bands to fasten to the head is a distinct breath of fresh air. 

Now, back to modern love- delivering something that acts both as of-the-moment and already a classic is harder than you might think; David Bowie did it all too well and Sabato de Sarno might just have tapped into that power for the season.

I'll admit it freely! I was wrong to stay away for so long, Gucci- I missed you in all your variations. Alessandro Michele, they’ll never make me hate you but Sabato de Sarno, they might just make me like you.