29 Sep 2024
In a mesmerizing tribute to life's fleeting yet precious moments, Gucci’s Spring Summer 2025 collection, Casual Grandeur, epitomizes elegance, confidence, and nostalgia. Inspired by the golden moment when the sun dips into the sea at the end of an August day, Creative Director Sabato De Sarno invites us to embrace these moments fully, honoring both personal and collective histories in a seamless blend of art, fashion, and heritage.
Unveiled on September 20, 2024, at the Triennale Milano, Gucci continues its deepened collaboration with the museum. This venue, revered for its celebration of art, design, and architecture, becomes the perfect backdrop for the collection. The show space, a corridor of vibrant colors reminiscent of a summer sunset, reflects the brand's enduring commitment to an inclusive cultural dialogue. From crisp white to the iconic Gucci Rosso Ancora, each room immerses guests in a unique tone and experience, symbolizing the unrepeatable moments this collection captures.
Sabato De Sarno’s vision for Casual Grandeur is bold yet effortless, fusing Gucci’s storied past with his own obsessions: meticulous tailoring, leather, lingerie, and 60’s-inspired silhouettes. “A year later, this collection shows an accomplished journey of construction,” De Sarno remarks. “Moment after moment, I have built my ideas for Gucci—a casual grandeur that takes shape through my obsessions—and always with an irreverent attitude.” His vision merges the traditional with the contemporary, weaving together past inspirations with future possibilities.
Opening the show is a celebration of tailoring. Refined, yet casual, trousers graze the sneakers in a playful twist on the traditionally formal, seamlessly merging men’s and women’s wardrobes. The color palette evokes a balance of vibrancy and sophistication—tones of grey, green, white, orange, and of course, Gucci Rosso Ancora. Structured jackets, A-line skirts, and grand couture-inspired coats, adorned with the iconic GG Monogram, set the tone for a bold yet wearable elegance. Leather, with a sleek glossy finish, continues to be a hallmark of Gucci's DNA, while delicate lace lingerie peeks through the collection’s slightly open coats and lace dresses, adding a touch of sensuality.
At the heart of this collection is an exploration of Gucci’s rich heritage. The beloved Gucci Bamboo 1947 bag returns as a star, reimagined with contemporary details, skillfully crafted by artisans using lacquer, leather, and Plexiglas. Bamboo serves as a motif throughout the collection, from the striking jewelry that wraps and intertwines on the body to new handbag designs featuring bamboo accents. The collection also debuts the Gucci Go bag, a structured, compact companion that’s designed for modern living. As a celebration of Gucci’s 60th year in Japan, one-of-a-kind Bamboo 1947 bags, reinterpreted by Japanese artists, made a striking appearance on the runway.
Footwear further exemplifies Gucci’s blend of past and present. The iconic Horsebit, which first adorned the 1953 loafer, evolves into contemporary platforms, creepers, ballerinas, and flat boots. These shoes, with their soft and enveloping 60’s attitude, exude the same irreverence as the show’s wrap-around sunglasses, featuring gradient lenses that mirror the collection’s rich color palette.
The collection concludes with a homage to the Gucci Flora foulard, an iconic design by illustrator Vittorio Accornero de Testa. Tied elegantly as a headscarf, the foulard, with its nine intricate bouquets on a white background, is reimagined through tone-on-tone chromatic choices that follow the collection’s vibrant hues, reminding us once again of the beauty in every fleeting moment.
Gucci’s Casual Grandeur invites us to stop, reflect, and live in the moment. It’s not just a collection—it’s an experience, a narrative, and a tribute to the brand’s enduring legacy and its continual evolution.
