Demna's latest collection for Gucci is a show that never happened An imaginary time capsule entitled “Generation Gucci”

At first glance, the latest lookbook shot by Demna for Gucci for the Pre-Fall 2026 collection titled “Generation Gucci” is steeped, if not drenched, in nostalgia. With the intuitive leap we’ve now come to expect from the Georgian designer, the show recreates, through lighting, angles and the grain of the images, the photos of Tom Ford’s 1990s runway shows. Instead of a crisp, pristine lookbook, the sensation is that of looking at pictures from a show over thirty years ago, pictures that paradoxically feel more real and historic than the originals.

Once past the initial impression, however, and delving deeper into the construction of the garments and the composition of the looks, the references to the past and the nostalgic aesthetic evaporate. The entire collection is built on another idea very typical of Demna: the complete deconstruction of wardrobe classics. Almost every piece that outwardly appears normal has in fact been lightened and simplified internally, creating a final feeling not so much of softness as of fluidity that makes the look both drier and more sensual.

Invisible constructions

The leitmotiv of the collection, as we said, is a game of removal and deconstruction. The traces of seams are the great absentees in the heeled shoes and especially in the jeans, where pockets and closures have also been completely hidden. In a great deal of women’s clothing buttons and fastenings have been replaced by minimal clips, the loafers are lightened, the party dresses in chiffon are as weightless as underwear, the coats fall like bathrobes, the travel suits are as comfortable as pyjamas.

The entire tailoring section will certainly recall Tom Ford’s looks, but whereas Ford’s tailoring was maximally structured, with strong shoulders, corset-like waists, large buttons and lapels, here the jackets are built in faille silk that is both lightweight and apparently “aged” to the touch, and therefore even lighter.

Deconstruction obviously does not only mean fluidity. Demna often plays on the tension between draped and skin-tight, which is why many trousers look almost like leggings, leather jackets and turtlenecks cling to the body in a way inspired by wetsuits. In the styling, the game is repeated with the combination of tight tops and flared, drooping trousers which, together with the emphasis on moto jackets and fitted tees and the reappearance of the red-green Web stripe on belts and bags, evokes an undefined past that mixes early-2000s vibes with very ’80s looks.

Demna, Tom Ford and David Beckham

It is obviously impossible not to notice the quotations and nods to the Tom Ford era: furs and suits on bare skin, asymmetric and plunging evening gowns, pencil skirts into which silk shirts dive completely open, the skin-tight leather catsuit that Catwoman would love, that micro-python jacket, lace trousers, silk dressing gowns.

They are hints, yes, but not only is the styling and the idea behind the tailoring constructions relatively different (Tom Ford’s menswear was very “material,” full of velvets, lamé fabrics, hypnotic colours), a large part of the looks seem to refer more to David Beckham than to the Texan designer. The looks with tight T-shirts and tracksuits, or those that include full tracksuits, wide sporty men’s trousers, mask sunglasses and even certain models’ haircuts reflect a very Y2K aesthetic reread through 2025 eyes.

Beyond these nostalgic references (perhaps the most nostalgic is the canvas belt with the metal buckle), many combinations are extremely Demna-esque: first of all the proportions and draping of the tailoring, then the minimalist combo of blazer and jeans with pointed shoes, the oversized women’s blazer, the suede pussy-bow dress, the loden buttoned right to the top and the shiny leather micro-jackets that leave exposed a thin, mischievous strip of skin just below the navel, the micro-sunglasses combined with slicked-back, centre-parted hair, the turtleneck tucked into jeans without a belt, the high-neck T-shirt, the moto jackets.

Halfway between two worlds

The direction Gucci is taking - and which will take fuller shape with next season’s physical shows - wants to try to unite the many forms of life that populate the Gucci universe under a unitary vision. The main challenge here is to be both coherent and eclectic. But the brand is in very good hands because Demna has an innate sense of cool and, above all, knows how to express it in different variations.

It’s easy to see that the collection has two souls: one more “raw” and realistic, very tied to the real and to the street, what we might call more youthful and sporty; and the other more refined, with floral prints and silks, evening gowns, furs and leopards. Demna has never had trouble making these two spheres coexist, and you can already see that, through his own taste, he is reconciling these tensions. But while we wait for this conceptual work to be completed, the identity of the new Gucci is already perfectly in focus.

Takeaways

- The “Generation Gucci” Pre-Fall 2026 lookbook, shot by Demna, deliberately recreates the grain, lighting and angles of Tom Ford’s 1990s runway photographs, generating a strong nostalgic effect that nevertheless dissolves as soon as the garments are examined in detail.

- The collection is built on a systematic deconstruction of Gucci classics: many jackets and tailored suits abandon buttons in favour of minimal clips, jeans eliminate visible seams, pockets and closures, coats acquire the lightness of a peignoir, travel suits the comfort of pyjamas, and evening dresses the impalpable consistency of underwear.

- While certain looks evoke the sculptural eroticism of the Tom Ford era or the sporty Y2K aesthetic associated with David Beckham, the actual construction goes in the opposite direction: rigid structures are hollowed out and lightened, while trousers, turtlenecks and leather jackets cling to the body, creating a contrast between fluidity and tension.

- Demna manages to blend these references to the past with his own contemporary vision, bringing together a more refined soul and a rawer, youthful one, and already defining with great clarity the identity of the new Gucci.