MILAN – Is Gucci set for one more textbook reinvention?

Time will tell, but on Saturday morning, Gucci  and parent company Kering took the industry by surprise, naming Sabato De Sarno the Italian brand’s latest creative director. His first show for the brand will bow in September.

His name may not ring a bell to those outside the inner fashion circle and he was never rumoured to be within the run to succeed Alessandro Michele, who exited last November, but he joins from Valentino.

Raised in Naples and based in Rome, he began his profession at Prada in 2005, moving to Dolce & Gabbana, before joining Valentino in 2009, where he held positions of accelerating responsibility, finally being appointed fashion director overseeing each men’s and girls’s collections.

“He has a variety of experience in menswear and a deep knowledge of knitwear. Sabato has a really detailed and precise hand, and I didn’t get the impression he’s a fashionista. He could be very concrete, with a watch also on business matters. He’s balanced and tenacious, very determined and with very clear and structured working procedures,” said a luxury goods talent recruiter, who requested anonymity. With the choice to tap De Sarno, “it seems Gucci wants to seriously change skin. The news will likely result in major changes within the design office. I’m wondering if it is a transitional phase.”

This was a theory of several sources, who wondered concerning the magnitude of the job offered to De Sarno, at a brand that last 12 months reached sales of 9.73 billion euros.

It is known that François-Henri Pinault, chairman and chief executive officer of Kering,  is seeking to elevate the posh quotient of Gucci. Sources said Pinault is considering a more structured organization that’s headed by a creative director, but one that doesn’t hinge around a star persona. As a substitute, the creative director would supervise key designers overseeing different categories, from beauty to fashion to jewelry.

One single designer in charge isn’t any longer considered viable for Gucci to further grow – especially a hands-on creative director like Alessandro Michele was known to be.

Irrespective of, the overall consensus from sources who spoke to WWD on Saturday was that De Sarno could be very talented – and a likeable person in addition.

His expertise n menswear is in keeping with Gucci’s need to accumulate that category, said one luxury goods analyst, who remarked that De Sarno is the designer liable for conceiving the VLTN logo at Valentino. “He can construct desire for the brand but will not be oblivious to merchandising,” said the source.

De Sarno began in menswear but his purview expanded to womenswear with the spring 2020 collection. “There’s no doubt about his talent, he was Pierpaolo’s [Piccioli’s] right arm, and has been growing his range at Valentino,” said one other Milan-based source.

One market source said that Gucci CEO Marco Bizzarri’s decision “shows he could be very expert at finding talent and understanding people’s potential. Had I not known Sabato, I might have said such a daring selection was a suicide, but knowing him thoroughly, I think that is one other successful move by Bizzarri. Sabato has a comprehensive vision. A creative director doesn’t only design the collections but should have a vision on so many levels, be a superb planner, very creative and really organized and Sabato is all this.”

In 2015, Bizzarri famously promoted Michele, who was also a second in command and never a household name, reinventing Gucci together with his gender-fluid, inclusive and romantic spirit. He had joined the Gucci design studio in 2002 following a stint as senior accessories designer at Fendi. His predecessor, Frida Giannini, brought him to Gucci and he was named her associate in 2011. In 2014, he took on the extra responsibility of creative director of Richard Ginori, the porcelain brand acquired by Gucci in 2013.

Of their report on Saturday, Bernstein analysts Luca Solca, Renny Shao and Clementine Flinois saluted Kering’s decision and were reassured, since naming a latest creative director was “a key ingredient to make this call work,” rating group shares as Outperform.

In keeping with their industry contacts, they wrote that De Sarno is believed to have “the required personality, ambition, and drive to fill his latest, highly prestigious role. The eyes of the world can be on him to see if he also has the required creative genius. We’re reassured by remarks about De Sarno’s profile: he may have to bear the pressure and find the courage to precise an original and compelling view of what Gucci will be.”

The report, nonetheless, urged De Sarno to be brave and have a forte of view, stating that “bringing Gucci center stage and making it more timeless can only be done if Gucci makes at the identical time a powerful statement, attracting global consumers back to its stores. Gucci must be excessive so as to thrive, similar to zebras should run. Zebras who persuade themselves they will metamorphose into lions and behave as such wouldn’t face a brilliant future. Said more clearly, a watered-down Gucci — because it has been perceived in Milan throughout the recent menswear fashion week, with utterly negative media and industry peer reviews — would proceed to lose altitude and do little to unlock a greater valuation for the Kering shares.”

In addition they kept an open mind about De Sarno’s recent work. “We don’t think much of the incontrovertible fact that Valentino hasn’t been at the highest of its form in recent times. Judging Sabato De Sarno on the recent fortunes of Valentino could be as accurate as judging Alessandro Michele on the-then fortunes of Gucci. De Sarno has been working within the team of [Pierpaolo] Piccioli, similar to Michele was working within the team of Frida Giannini. Noblesse oblige, it’s the top of the creative department who carries responsibility and calls the shots. We’ll see how well Sabato De Sarno can try this.”

De Sarno — who will start in his latest position as soon as he may have accomplished all his obligations in his current role, said Gucci in an announcement — will report back to Bizzarri.

“Having worked with quite a few Italy’s most famous luxury fashion houses, he brings with him an enormous and relevant experience,” said Bizzarri of De Sarno on Saturday. “I’m certain that through Sabato’s deep understanding and appreciation for Gucci’s unique legacy, he’ll lead our creative teams with a particular vision that may help write this exciting next chapter, reinforcing the home’s fashion authority while capitalizing on its wealthy heritage.”

As reported, on the sidelines of the lads’s show earlier this month, designed by the in-house team, Pinault told WWD Bizzarri would stay in place and lead the brand within the post-Alessandro Michele period. Rumors were circulating that Saint Laurent CEO Francesca Bellettini was on her option to Gucci.

 “100 and two years after Guccio Gucci opened his first store in Florence, Gucci stays some of the iconic, distinguished and influential luxury houses on the planet,” said Pinault. “With Sabato De Sarno on the creative helm, we’re confident that the home will proceed each to influence fashion and culture through highly desirable products and collections, and to bring a singular and contemporary perspective to modern luxury.”

For his part, De Sarno stated that he was “deeply honored to tackle the role” and “proud to hitch a house with such a unprecedented history and heritage, that through the years has been capable of welcome and cherish values I think in. I’m touched and excited to contribute my creative vision for the brand.”

In keeping with WWD sources, strong disagreements over the longer term of the brand caused a rift between Michele and Bizzarri, who with Pinault had urged Michele to initiate a powerful design shift, a change of pace and an extra elevation of the brand toward a real luxury positioning.