Demna and "The Gucciness of Gucci"
Demna’s La Famiglia isn’t the reinvention—it’s the hook, the first act in Gucci’s next era.
So, Gucci just blew up fashion week calendars by dropping La Famiglia on Instagram—a 37-look collection shot by the legendary Catherine Opie—before Milan Fashion Week even started. Their Instagram account was wiped clean, and now lies a family photo album of Gucci characters, each oozing with equal freshness and homage. It’s not just a lookbook; it’s Demna’s opening statement, epitomizing “The Gucciness of Gucci.”
And let me tell you, it’s fabulous. You’ve got Miss Aperitivo in her sequin minidress, La V.I.C. adorned in full GG monogram, and The Narcisista, shirt unbuttoned to his Gucci belt buckle like he’s walked straight out of Tom Ford’s early 2000s Gucci. Then there’s Incazzata in her scarlet coat, gloves, and the resurrected Bamboo bag. Demna is literally building Gucci’s new cast through archetypes within our everyday lives.
The press note spelled it out: this is “the aesthetic base upon which Demna’s Gucci vision will be built, leading up to his first show in February.” In simple terms: this is the trailer, not the full film.
And Gucci’s new CEO, Francesca Bellettini, couldn’t be clearer about what’s at stake. She told investors, “There is also going to be a Christmas capsule… a project for Chinese New Year. I just would love everybody to defocus a little bit on the collection of Demna. There is a company, there is a brand, and there is constant work of all the team, in presenting new collections and new products and working on the carryover.” In other words: don’t get obsessed with Demna just yet…Gucci is continuing to roll out product drops to get sales back on track.
And they need it. According to Vogue, sales were down 25% last quarter, and Gucci’s revenue has slipped from €10.5 billion in 2022 to €7.7 billion in 2024. La Famiglia is clearly designed to remind us why Gucci matters: it’s playful, character-driven, and full of callbacks to Tom Ford and Alessandro Michele without being stuck in the past.
Fashion consultant Dryce Lahssan nailed it: “Demna is a master of storytelling. Everyone can relate to a character of the Gucci family. With this first collection, he is taking ownership of Gucci’s heritage; reinvention has not yet begun. Still, it marks an exciting moment for the house.”
And honestly, that’s exactly how it feels—Demna hasn’t reinvented Gucci yet. He’s setting the scene, sketching out the family tree, and showing us the cast of characters we’ll likely be obsessing over for the next few seasons.
La Famiglia is only in stores from September 25 to October 12 in ten cities (New York, LA, London, Milan, Paris, Tokyo, Seoul, Shanghai, Beijing, Singapore).
My take? This is Demna at his most bourgeois. It’s not the reinvention yet—it’s the hook. The newest Gucci cinematic universe has just started rolling, and I, for one, am buying popcorn.