Sabato De Sarno left Gucci. Whether he left or was asked to leave is unclear. What has been clear for the past few seasons is the drop in sales. Gone are the days when the double G logo was everywhere on everyone. It’s like when Michele left, he took the logo he can no longer use with him. Even without it, his new designs for Valentino are being called Gucci more than anything Sabato has shown in the past few seasons. Michele’s Style has become Gucci’s identity. Regardless of the many Valentino archive images posted after every show to show the resemblance and prove that these designs are in fact just Michele for Valentino.

Sabato is the complete opposite in every way—aesthetics, designs, approach to branding, and of course, the target market. You can’t even call his appointment an overcorrection unless what they were trying to “correct” was their great sales numbers. They probably knew they can’t just replicate Michele’s image because he was taking it with him. So instead they hoped for another revolution. Not unheard of in the fashion industry and wouldn’t have been a first for Gucci either — a young and fresh designer who could build his legacy at their brand? But then he was never quite given the chance. If they were only after sales, why not bring a known designer at great cost for a great reward? They wanted to have the new name and the numbers right from the start. Rome was not built in a day, but apparently at Kering, you only get a couple of seasons to build yours. Ironic coming from an Italian brand, eh?

It’s also interesting that I have only seen positive feedback and comments on social media or from my own audience every time I have covered his collections for Gucci. So where were the sales? Did Michele take all the clients with him? Because it certainly isn’t reflected in Kering’s overall performance. Maybe later.

The point is, should it matter? Are they just actively trying to kill creativity? Or was he just not the right fit and wouldn’t have been no matter how many chances (seasons) were given? Would it be better to just promote someone in-house like Chanel did until you find your Blazy? Or just wait around like Givenchy until your Burton shows up?

Sabato was not giving the Gucci that people expected and apparently had income to dispose on. He also didn’t seem to be able or even want to bring some social media impact. If that’s not the vibe they were going for, why hire him in the first place?

My friend has an excellent theory on this but unfortunately it’s not mine to share. Tell me yours.