Since taking the reigns of Gucci with his first collection in September last year, Sabato De Sarno’s vision for the label has embraced a sense of stripping back; a reset that peels away the garnishes, the frills and the fluff, and instead gestures toward the essence of each wearer.
Today, in what feels like the final act of the designer’s debut at Gucci, AnOther can unveil the label’s first menswear campaign under the designer’s creative direction. Photographed by David Sims, the campaign further reinforces the foundations of the future of Gucci, centred by unique perspectives, and the beauty of human expression.
“These images are an invitation, a gesture with open arms, so that everyone feels welcome in a universe where clothes are made to be worn, lived in, and loved,” De Sarno tells AnOther.
Sims was the first photographer the designer worked with when he started in fashion. Having also lensed the label’s Spring/Summer 2024 womenswear campaign, the choice links with De Sarno’s intention of mirroring; a theme from the debut menswear collection that embraced a sense of symbiosis with his Gucci woman. The opening look – a long tailored jacket paired with a simple white vest – was a redux of the first look of his womenswear debut. But De Sarno also mirrors the past; not only the past of the illustrious, more than a century-old house, with its radical sensuality and timeless allure, but of the designer himself.
“This collection is a celebration of individuality and diversity, highlighting the unique essence each person brings,” says De Sarno. “Clément, George, Joel, Finn, Joel, Martin, Modou, Li Cheng, Junyeong, Emilio, and Douta. Each of them is a piece of this story of mine for Gucci. Not only with their faces, but more importantly with their personalities. They bring to life the images that tell the story of my men’s wardrobe.”
The campaign unites the industry’s newer faces with some more familiar. French model Clément Chabernaud first made his runway debut in 2005, while English model and drummer for These New Puritans George Barnett has made his mark on runways across the world, as well as gracing the cover of Another Man’s S/S17 issue, captured by Alasdair McLellan.
Instead of being enlisted in the campaign as nameless faces, each model has shared their own stories with Gucci. Joel is a keen guitarist and writes poetry, Finn volunteers at a local cat cafe in Scotland, Modou plays five-a-side football at a national level, Li Cheng collects model cars. It’s these personal intricacies that De Sarno encourages – this is fashion as a way to unveil, not conceal.
“I love the archive, I love history, I love to go deep into this information,” De Sarno told Alexander Fury at the preview for his A/W24 men’s collection. “Not just aesthetically, but the story.” And the history of Gucci itself was stitched into the collection, reviving and reiterating pieces of Tom Ford’s Gucci along with accessories from the label’s beginnings as a luggage maker, all to hammer home the emotional meaning of the new Gucci: clean, exquisite and personal.
“Through these designs, we aim to break boundaries and redefine what it means to express oneself through fashion,” De Sarno says. “And with this, to make us feel the way we want to feel.”
MUSIC CREDITS
MASCULINITY
Performed by Lucky Love
Written by: Luc Bruyère – Composed by Luc Bruyère, Jerémy Chatelain, Paco del Rosso, Kevin Nkuansambu-Miahumba Bwana (Prinzly), Nicolas Petitfrere, Anthony Lladosa, Samuel Hookey
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