Gloves with claws, bags like an IKEA bag and torn sneakers for $2 thousand – these are the calling cards of the creative director of the Balenciaga brand, who headed Gucci.
Demna Gvasalia, after ten years, is moving to a new job in the same holding company Kering. In this position, the Georgian designer will replace Sabato de Sarno, who worked at Gucci for two years and left in February. Gvasalia, as the media writes, will become the first star manager there: it was he who created the recognizable style of Balenciaga, “which mixed street aesthetics, an alternative understanding of beauty and political statements.” The New York Times predicts a “great reset”: in the last year alone, Gucci sales have fallen by a quarter, meanwhile this brand provides two-thirds of Kering’s revenue. At the same time, Gvasalia’s social networks recalled the scandal of 2022, when Balenciaga used teddy bears dressed in leather bandages in a photo shoot with children. This episode did not pass without a trace, says Alexander Perepelkin, editorial director of Blueprint and partner of the Lunar Hare agency:
“It was clear that the dismissal of Sabato de Sarno, who replaced Alessandro Michele in this position, was inevitable. His reign at Gucci even dragged on a bit. On the other hand, Demna certainly made a revolution at Balenciaga: in ten years, revenue grew from $17 million to $2.5 billion, couture was relaunched. But most importantly, the brand became extremely important from a cultural point of view, attracted a very large youth audience, despite its classicism.