Milan Fashion Week: Gucci unveils the first collection designed by Sabato De Sarno

On Friday, the luxury house of Gucci unveiled one of the most eagerly awaited collections of this fashion month: the first opus imagined by Sabato De Sarno, successor to Alessandro Michele. The result: a sensual SS24 collection, reminiscent of the Tom Ford era, ex-artistic director of the Italian label.

In a red-darkened half-light, the Kering Group's Italian label showed a number of effortless silhouettes, far removed from the eccentric, maximalist style of its predecessor, Michele. However, Sabato De Sarno and his team did not ignore the party spirit associated with the brand.

First look to hit the runway: black shorts combined with a sheer white top with a scoop neckline, worn under a long dark masculine coat. Accessories: a chunky necklace and a long-handled bag, similar to the label's classic Jackie 1961 model.

Sleek, sensual tone defines collection

The rest of the collection maintains this sleek, sensual tone. Silhouettes feature streetwear pieces such as hoodies, slit skirts, boxy jackets, combishorts, sexy babydolls and mini-dresses with plunging necklines. It is here that the ensemble appears to nod at the era of Tom Ford, during which the Texan designer worked for Gucci. The period (1994-2004) was crowned with success: according to BoF media, Gucci was valued at over 10 billion dollars in 2004.

Today, the stakes are high for the Italian brand. Last July, luxury goods group Kering announced a 10 percent drop in first-half net profit to 1.785 billion euros. Gucci was particularly hard hit, with sales down 1 percent to 5.128 billion euros.