The appointment comes after Gucci – once one of the industry’s biggest success stories – has suffered a prolonged sales decline, with revenues down 24% in the fourth quarter of 2024. The label’s former design chief Sabato De Sarno left in February.
Georgian fashion designer Demna has been the artistic director of Kering’s Balenciaga since 2015, and will take up his new role in July, Kering said.
The designer faced criticism in 2022 over a controversial Balenciaga ad campaign with images involving children, which he later said was the “wrong artistic choice.”
View this post on Instagram
In a statement, François-Henri Pinault, Kering CEO and chairman, said: “His creative power is exactly what Gucci needs.”
Analysts have been impatient for the company to fill the role, with Luca Solca of Bernstein saying that Gucci, which generates nearly half of group sales and two-thirds of operating profit, needed a “heavyweight” chief designer to regain much-needed momentum.
In other fashion news, Donatella Versace has stepped down from Versace. The indomitable designer will step away from her role as creative director of Versace to become chief brand ambassador, replaced with former Miu Miu design director Dario Vitale. Versace has been in the role for 28 years.
Who is Demna?
Demna is a Georgian fashion designer, best known as the creative director of Balenciaga since 2015. He was previously the co-founder of Vetements, an influential streetwear brand that challenged fashion norms with oversized silhouettes and ironic branding.
Born Demna Gvasalia in 1981 in Georgia (then part of the Soviet Union), he studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp. Under his leadership, Balenciaga has become one of the most talked-about luxury brands, known for its avant-garde, dystopian aesthetics and viral marketing strategies.
