Gucci turned Times Square into a runway, with Cindy Crawford and Tom Brady modelling
The show was livestreamed on the billboards. “I wanted to do the impossible and place Gucci at the centre of this metropolis,” says Demna.
Gucci creative director Demna presented his first Cruise collection for the Italian brand in New York, transforming Times Square into a runway, as owner Kering seeks to revive its struggling flagship label.
The show, livestreamed on billboards in one of the most visited places on the planet, was a nod to Gucci’s ties to Manhattan — the birthplace of its international expansion, where the Italian house opened its first store outside Italy in 1953.
The “GucciCore” collection “feels like a homecoming for the brand,” Demna said. “I wanted to do the impossible and place Gucci at the centre of this metropolis.”
Cindy Crawford and former football quarterback Tom Brady were among the models wearing Demna’s range of styles, from business suits and trench coats to full-length gowns, in front of an audience including Anna Wintour and Mariah Carey. The collection’s range reflects the “plurality of styles that intersect like the streets of the city,” Demna said.
Cruise collections, once limited to resort attire, are now often staged in locations that let brands link designs to a geographic narrative, in addition to the biannual calendar. Gucci’s choice of New York comes as European luxury brands turn to North America for growth: Christian Dior unveiled its Cruise collection in Los Angeles the same month.
It is Demna’s second outing for the house, after his runway debut in Milan in February. The Georgian designer spent a decade at Kering’s Balenciaga before taking over as Gucci’s creative director in July last year, a role previously held for two years by Sabato De Sarno.
The stakes are high: Gucci makes up a majority of profit at Kering. Sales at the brand dropped 8% year on year in the first quarter as the Iran war hurt Middle Eastern spending and curtailed travel; the group called the quarter a “first step” in its recovery. CEO Luca de Meo, appointed last September, has pledged to more than double the group’s operating profit margin and boost Gucci’s appeal.