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Say It Ain’t Sabato

The long-expected ouster of Gucci designer Sabato De Sarno has finally come to pass, albeit somewhat more brutally than anticipated… and without anyone on deck to replace him. Is it Maria Grazia Chiuri’s turn? Hedi Slimane’s? Or is Kering going to surprise us all?

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Sabato De Sarno
In the end, though, De Sarno’s failure at Gucci came down to product and merchandising: At a time when global luxury markets were softening, De Sarno’s cute-clothes concepts were practical but never inspiring. Photo: Daniele Venturelli/Getty Images for Gucci
Lauren Sherman
February 6, 2025

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At around 11 a.m. in Milan on Wednesday, Gucci sent an internal H.R. memo that a new designer would be joining the studio and reporting to creative director Sabato De Sarno, who was slated to present his next collection in Milan on February 25. But that show—which De Sarno was already pre-casting in New York last weekend—will be his last. A few hours later, around 2 p.m., De Sarno was informed that his brief, slightly tortured, disappointing, not-even-two-year run at Gucci had come to an end. That news hastily hit the wires first thing the next morning.

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