Demna’s first answer after taking over Gucci: The Store Show debuts, rewriting everything from the Horsebit to the loafer
In Demna’s Gucci era, would you go for a new bag first, or the new loafers?
Summary
・ For Demna’s debut at Gucci, the collection The Store Show transformed the runway into a retail space, bringing together multiple character archetypes such as rebellious aristocrats and eccentrics. ・ Menswear reinterprets Italian loafers and experiments with off-kilter proportions in tailoring, while womenswear remixes equestrian codes, saddle shoulders, rugby shirts, and tartan. ・ Iconic Gucci accessories are reworked, with the bamboo handle reimagined as segmented leather joins, along with a new Horsebit bag, square-toed loafers, and tasseled mules. ・ Drawing on the brand’s birthplace, The Savoy hotel, the collection uses new display and proportion perspectives to open a contemporary chapter for Gucci centered on diversity and inclusivity.
When a designer with such a distinct style takes over a fashion house with equally strong historical codes, the biggest question is often not what they will create, but what they will keep and what they will change. Demna’s first full answer since taking the helm at Gucci has finally arrived with The Store Show. Rather than simply replicating the past or rushing to push the brand toward another extreme, he rearranges Gucci’s years of Italian style, equestrian motifs, classic accessories, and wide range of characters into his first portrait of the brand.
The runway becomes a Gucci store, and Demna starts with the people
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The name The Store Show alone reveals the ambition behind the collection. Conceived as a retail space, the set imagines what Demna sees as the Gucci store of the future. Menswear and womenswear appear one after the other in the same show, as though you had walked into the store and were watching people with different personalities choose their own Gucci.
These people are not cast in a single mold, either. The Rebellious Aristocrat, The Snob, and The Eccentric – rebellious aristocrats, snobs, and eccentrics – serve as character archetypes for the collection. Rather than trying to define a single “standard Gucci customer,” Demna allows different, even contradictory personalities to coexist, as if reminding us that Gucci has never been a single personality, but a world you enter and decide for yourself who you want to be.
Italian gentlemen, equestrian socialites, and a touch of Demna’s off-kilter proportions
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Menswear opens with cropped trousers and sockless loafers, putting classic Italian style on display before gradually bringing in Demna’s familiar play with proportion. Fitted suits with saddle shoulders are followed by short, loose jackets paired with long, draped jeans. The elegance has not disappeared; it has simply been stretched, shortened, and reshaped.
Womenswear draws on middle-class wardrobes and equestrian references. Sharp suits, high saddle shoulders without shoulder pads, men’s shirts, loose coats, rugby shirts, and A-line pleated skirts appear throughout; tartan, leather, and checked wool lend the otherwise proper looks a slightly unconventional air. The brand’s iconic Horsebit motif is deliberately enlarged or reduced, appearing on everything from belts and clothing to accessories. “New Romantic” looks use structured-shoulder shirts, slim trousers, and plenty of jewelry to take Gucci’s opulence in a more dramatic direction.
Classic handbags, Bamboo, and loafers are all reworked
If the clothes are Demna’s rearrangement of Gucci’s personality, the accessories offer the clearest view of how the brand’s heritage continues. A new urban Horsebit handbag arrives in a clean silhouette, with interior compartments that emphasize practicality. Another Bamboo-handled bag moves away from the traditional rigid form, using multiple joined leather sections to make the classic Bamboo element more flexible. The three Horsebit buckles on the 3X belt are also transformed into clean-lined party bags. There are also mini cylindrical Bamboo shoulder bags, along with the returning GG Marmont and Ophidia.
There are plenty of noteworthy changes in the footwear, too. Demna’s first redesigned Gucci loafer features a square toe and a soft driving-shoe sole. Slim mules with extra-long tassels take what were once indoor house slippers onto the street, while heels and knee-high leather boots continue to draw details from equestrian elements. The Store Show ends by returning to Gucci’s starting point: London’s The Savoy Hotel. Gucci was born in a place where travelers, celebrities, and all kinds of people crossed paths, and Demna translates that history into a more contemporary idea: Gucci can be a space where very different people come together, influence one another, and allow each person to reimagine who they are.
So rather than seeing The Store Show as Demna’s final statement on Gucci, perhaps it is more like the first day he officially opens the store’s doors. The classics are still there, but their placement, proportions, and the way they are viewed have all changed.
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