DEMNA UNVEILS FIRST GUCCI RUNWAY SHOW

# The Archive Gambit Gucci's revenue fell 25% while the underground rap scene produced its biggest stars in years. Yesterday at 2 PM CET in Milan, Demna Gvasalia presented his first Gucci runway show since joining the Italian house. The collision tells you everything about fashion's current math problem. Demna is betting that Tom Ford's 1994 to 2004 Gucci codes can save a brand bleeding money. The early returns suggest he might be onto something. ## The Cast List Says It All Fakemink, born Vincenzo Camille, is a 20-year-old British rapper whose "Easter Pink" went viral and whose debut album is titled London's Saviour. He has received co-signs from Frank Ocean and Timothée Chalamet, while Drake, Lil Yachty and Olaolu Slawn have been spotted hanging around with him. Nettspend, legal name Gunner Shepardson, attended the Gucci Spring Summer 2026 show during Milan Fashion Week and has been feuding with Fakemink in recent weeks. Walking alongside them: Kate Moss, Emily Ratajkowski, and Gabbriette. After months spent combing the Florentine archives and visiting factories, Demna emerged with a conviction that "Generation Gucci represents ongoing research into archival and visual codes across different eras of the brand's history." The Pre-Fall 2026 lookbook evoked the 90s-era Gucci of Tom Ford, shot in the style of one of Ford's runway shows with stark lighting and shadows, focusing on slim-fit tailoring and elevated everyday basics. Alex Consani opened the lookbook dressed shirtless in a baby pink pant suit with skinny-as-ever trousers, while following looks continued with standard tailored ensembles styled casually with tapered denim and turtleneck shirts. ## The Numbers Behind the Nostalgia Gucci's 2024 revenue fell 23% to €7.65 billion while operating income dropped 51% to €1.61 billion, marking the brand's weakest financial performance since the height of the pandemic, reflecting misalignment between its new minimalist creative direction and market expectations. Gucci's first-quarter 2025 sales fell 25% on a comparable basis while group sales fell 14% as other key units including Saint Laurent and [Balenciaga](BALENCIAGA DROPS HEART AND BODY FALL 26 WITH DAVID SIMS) also suffered from a downturn in luxury demand. The brand has struggled to turn its fortunes around under new management including CEO Stefano Cantino brought in from Louis Vuitton, missing out on luxury's post-pandemic boom before watching its business drift from stagnation to decline to freefall. Demna became creative director starting July 2025 after presenting his last Balenciaga Haute Couture collection on July 6. Fashion history presents mixed results for designer revelations the second time around, but Demna will have the fortunes of Gucci at his back as it has five times the revenue of Balenciaga. ## The Pattern Recognition Play From smoky eyes to seductive silhouettes, Ford's DNA spills across the new lookbook imagery, built around the idea of an imaginary, historical Gucci show that never actually happened, filled with Ford's unmistakable signatures including sharp tailored suits worn over bare chests and sleek aviator sunglasses. Fakemink's era-defining sound blends highly complex digital production evoking 2011-era Drake, Dean Blunt and Nettspend with semi-freestyled rap flows, existing somewhere within the now-sprawling jerk-rap-cloud-rap-plugg-rage-hyperpop nexus of net-native genres, attracting collaborations with internet legends Surf Gang, Xaviersobased, Ecco2k, and Mechatok. The connection is not accidental. Demna declared "Heritage and fashion are lovers," insisting the result should feel anything but intellectual. This Gucci is going to get "lighter, softer, more refined," honoring Gucci's history not as a maison but as a "superbrand" churning out "pragmatic products." ## Temperature Check: Early But Essential While Demna's appointment could bring consumer interest back, analysts expect Gucci's performance to be weak throughout 2025 as "sales and profitability are likely to come under further pressure, as the brand struggles with creative direction and product newness." With Demna's first collection pending and commercial strategies under review, FY 2025 is expected to be a foundation year less focused on immediate rebound and more on rebuilding product excitement, with the task now to translate creative boldness into commercial consistency. The underground rap kids walking for a heritage Italian house is not a gimmick. It is a thesis. "Desirable brands like Hermès can nudge prices higher without hurting demand, but brands such as Gucci do not currently enjoy that level of pricing power," with "bringing newness, something fresh which has not been seen before" being what could make Gucci great again. Demna is betting that newness lives at the intersection of 1990s Tom Ford and 2025 SoundCloud. Expect the February show to set the template for luxury's next five years.