Demna Leaves Balenciaga To Become Gucci Creative Director

IT’S BEEN JUST over a month since Sabato de Sarno exited Gucci, and his seat has already been filled. In the never-ending game of musical chairs at the fashion houses, Balenciaga’s Demna has emerged as de Sarno’s successor amidst the rumoured potentials including the likes of Saint Laurent’s Anthony Vaccarello, Dior’s Maria Grazia Chirui, and Hedi Slimane. 

De Sarno’s surprise departure came just a few weeks before Gucci’s Fall/Winter 2025 presentation on February 25, which was then entirely designed by the in-house studio team. Just over a week later, Balenciaga’s Fall/Winter 2025 presentation at Paris Fashion Week on March 9 marked a near-decade for Demna at the Spanish Maison’s helm. Slated for July 9, the presentation of his haute couture show during Paris couture week will mark his final outing with the Maison.

Francois-Henri Pinault, Chairman and CEO of Kering, announced in a statement: “Demna’s contribution to the industry, to Balenciaga, and to the Group’s success has been tremendous. His creative power is exactly what Gucci needs.”

He added: “As I thank him for everything he has accomplished over the past 10 years, I look forward to seeing him shape Gucci’s new artistic direction.”

Further, at a surprise conference held at Kering’s headquarters in Paris, Gucci CEO Stefano Cantino said, “Demna will bring to Gucci something exceptional. His way of defining fashion today is pretty unique, and this is what Gucci deserves and needs for the future”.

Demna’s pioneering of Balenciaga, beginning in December 2015, has taken the Maison to unprecedented heights. Integrating the silhouette-heavy codes of Cristóbal Balenciaga with his singular twists on the club kid aesthetic, Demna crafted a couture universe that pirouettes between classic couture and the underground grittiness of European street style.

Demna is no stranger to Gucci, having collaborated with the house in 2021 on “The Hacker Project”, capitalising on the raging logomania trends at the time. In his own statement issued on social media, Demna said: “I am truly excited to join the Gucci family. It is an honor to contribute to a house that I deeply respect and have long admired. I look forward to writing together with Stefano and the whole team a new chapter of Gucci’s amazing story.” 

As the powerhouse of Italian fashion and the darling of Kering’s portfolio, the pressure on De Sarno during his tenure was immense, with the creative director struggling to sustain the brand’s past sales figures amidst a 16 per cent drop in third-quarter sales reported last October. Though, with Demna’s penchant for graphic textures, striking colours and sumptuous fabrics, it seems Gucci is set for a technicolour future — and perhaps one that can revive the Maison as hoped.