For Demna, buckles are the new logos Gucci's creative director goes all in on the brand's iconic horsebit

In theory, a belt should serve a fairly simple purpose: cinching a pair of trousers, supporting a skirt, marking the waistline. In fashion, however, objects rarely remain confined to their original function. They can become ornamentation, a styling element, or outright brand signatures.

That is precisely what happens to the belt in Gucci's SS27. Among the looks in Demna's collection for the maison, the accessory appears in an exaggerated form: the 3X Belt, constructed through the repetition of the Horsebit, one of Gucci's historic codes. The multiplication does not increase the object's function, but rather its capacity to be seen and recognised. And it is precisely here that the belt becomes interesting: it is not simply a matter of wearing three instead of one, but of understanding what happens when an object originally designed to fulfil a practical purpose is transformed into a tool of identification.

The history of Gucci's Horsebit

Born from an equestrian imaginary and subsequently transformed into one of Gucci's most recognisable codes, the Horsebit has traversed decades, products and different categories. It has appeared on loafers, bags, belts, jewellery and accessories. Its strength, therefore, lies not only in its form but in its capacity to be immediately associated with the maison.

The Horsebit 1955 connects Gucci's current universe to its origins: a link between past and present that draws on that very year, when equestrian elements entered the Maison's iconography, progressively becoming one of its most recognisable symbols. And this is the characteristic that makes the Horsebit particularly effective in Demna's collection. In a wardrobe constructed through archetypes and varied references, the accessory functions almost as a signature applied to the body.

Will the 3X Belt be the it-item of the year?

The 3X Belt takes this logic to its most literal conclusion: if one Horsebit is enough to be recognised, three Horsebit make that recognition even more emphatic. Multiplication thus becomes a form of communication. The same logic appears in the bag featuring three Horsebit clasps, on shirt collars or on the back of an oversized faux fur coat; the code is not simply used to decorate a product, but to increase the quantity of Gucci that is immediately legible within the product itself.

It is precisely for this reason that accessories occupy a particular position within the luxury system. A maison does not merely sell runway garments — it builds a universe composed of products with different price points, functions and levels of accessibility. This is the principle of accessible luxury: a product that is more attainable than the most expensive categories, yet visible enough to allow the consumer to lay claim to a recognisable code. The belt is particularly effective precisely because it remains on display and can transform a detail into an immediately legible signal.