Sabato de Sarno, the designer who must turn around Gucci

A storm rolled over Milan as Sabato de Sarno’s big debut for Gucci took place, thwarting plans to use the city’s streets to present his new vision to the world. Last September’s event was the most hotly anticipated of the year after the designer was plucked from near obscurity by French luxury group Kering to reimagine its struggling flagship following the departure of former star designer Alessandro Michele. The stakes were high, the prospect of being judged harshly even higher.

Shares plummeted, bringing declines over the past year to more than 35 per cent. As ever at Kering, Gucci — which, with €10 billion in revenue last year, accounted for half of group sales and two-thirds of profits — is at the centre of the problem. The parent company said it expected Gucci sales to have fallen about 20 per cent in the first three months of the year driven by declines in China, its most important market.

De Sarno’s rise has been so precipitous that the Gucci documentary is entitled Who is Sabato de Sarno?. Growing up in Cicciano, outside Naples, his interest in fashion led him to study design at Milan’s Istituto Secoli — a school he selected for its emphasis on technical skills as well as creative process, according to people who know him.

Described by those who know him as a workaholic who likes to get involved in the details, De Sarno has also demonstrated a canniness for building on a theme. He dubbed his first collection Ancora, which in Italian can mean “still”, “more” and “again”, alluding to the desire to renew Gucci. “I loved the passion behind this word,” he said, so much so that he got it tattooed on his arm.

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