Sabato De Sarno's pragmatic romanticism for Gucci's FW24

For Sabato De Sarno, fashion is a marathon, not a sprint. And after making his mark on the brand, the FW24 show by Gucci seen today in Milan has kick-started a new and more resolute phase of its creative direction after the debut "twin" collections that had reestablished its foundations and aesthetic language. More mature and complex, the collection seen today has vividly represented De Sarno's exploration of tailoring and his passion for a kind of gentle deconstruction of sartorial clichés or, as the designer writes in his notes, a "small subversive gesture". De Sarno is a practical designer but a romantic man: two aspects that found a perfect balance in the coat that was somewhat the star of the show, constructed with a hidden buttoning at the back through which the garment "embraces" the wearer. A tailoring that simulates a gesture of love. The same buttoning mechanism was present on all the other jackets and coats in the collection, which, among other things, made evident a remarkable work on proportions, making them protective yet sensual at the same time, suggesting an untamed femininity and self-assuredness but serene in its lack of aggressiveness.

Another type of work done is that on textures, extremely tactile, but organized in a sort of layering between the thick and the ethereal – all achieved through fabric manipulation that included not only coat wool but also cut-out and reassembled laces, inlaid embroideries, and geometric jacquard prints that appear more precious the closer you look. In the use of sequins and crystals, in continuity with the first two collections, there is now more chiaroscuro, more roundness: some of these sparkling elements were off-tone, creating an effect that we could compare to the visual richness of autumnal foliage. The garments are designed without leaning towards either an untranslatable concept on the body of the end customer or towards an easy commerciality, so widespread in times of quiet luxury: De Sarno's is a no-nonsense approach that proposes to answer the questions that the market asks about fashion these days, searching for intrinsic value that fashion itself is looking for within itself and the need for wearability without losing oneself in a banal search for the essential for its own sake. Or, to say it together with the designer: «My dreams, just like my fashion, always dialogue with reality. Because I'm not looking for another world to inhabit, but rather ways to inhabit this world».

Which also includes garments in which ornament and structure are one and the same, such as the twin set that actually consists of a single piece, the showers of sequins that animated bangs on coats and the underside of some tops, but also the bag with the pierced logo that gives a glimpse of what is hidden inside, and seems to be the transformation into a handbag of an almost flirtatious gesture; or the curled clutch closed by a golden bar that cites Gucci's classic bamboo handle. Elsewhere, De Sarno has admirably balanced boldness with elegance, for example with the riding boots (some of them reinvented in a new cuissardes version) that swaddle, concealing and suggesting their shapes together, the models' bare legs and the Horsebit loafers transformed into platform sandals that suddenly become sensual or gold electroplated necklaces with studded motifs and woven by a ribbon and cat-eye sunglasses in acetate. Each element reflects a concrete approach that is not merely functional but tries to chart a new aesthetic paradigm by challenging ready-to-wear conventions and inviting the audience to explore new perspectives on the everyday.