A new chapter for Gucci: Demna era has begun

In March 2025, Gucci announced the appointment of Demna Gvasalia as its new Creative Director, signaling a decisive change of direction for a house that had struggled to sustain momentum in recent years. Demna, best known for his provocative work at Balenciaga, officially takes up the role in July, succeeding Sabato De Sarno. His first full runway collection for Gucci is scheduled for March 2026, a delay that reflects both the scale of the task and his desire to articulate a distinct vision for the brand.

A digital clean slate

In the run-up to Milan Fashion Week this September, Gucci has wiped its Instagram feed. Announced by Demna through Instagram, the dramatic gesture suggests a symbolic reset – an erasure of the past to clear space for a new era. Such moves resonate powerfully in the social media environment.. By removing content, Gucci ensures that all attention shifted towards what was coming next.

The link became clear when Demna teased that the first Gucci film under his creative direction would premiere during Milan Fashion Week. In effect, the deletion of posts was not an isolated stunt but a prelude to a new mode of storytelling. 

On 23 September at Milan Fashion Week, Gucci will premiere a film – the first official creative work overseen by Demna. According to The Business of Fashion, the project will draw on Gucci’s archives while setting the mood for the new chapter ahead. Speculation has centred on whether Demna will revisit Tom Ford’s era of sleek sensuality, fueled by a now-deleted post from his partner, Loïk Gomez, in which he appeared wearing a piece from Gucci’s earlier collections. More than a product showcase, the film is designed as a cinematic statement – one that establishes atmosphere and direction, shaping perception months before the runway debut in 2026.

This strategy reflects how luxury houses increasingly use film – and social media being the primary sharing platform – not as marketing collateral but as primary storytelling devices where core values and visual direction merge to create a desirable character. Fashion films can condense mood, aesthetic, and narrative into a format that reaches far beyond the audience of a live show.

Shortly after the stunt, Gucci introduced its new ‘La Famiglia’ collection, officially opening the Demna era for the fashion house sharing the full collection as seperate posts on their profile. A press release of the fashion house described the collection as a study in “Gucciness,” introducing a new era defined by being “unapologetically sexy, extravagant, and daring”. All content pieces also reveal that the collection will be available exclusively in ten Gucci stores from September 25th to October 12th – perfectly timed with Milano Fashion Week.

These gestures demonstrate how deeply luxury branding has become entwined with digital culture. Social platforms are no longer mere broadcast channels. They are ecosystems where perception is shaped, audiences participate, and commerce is eventually activated.

Anticipation, risk and reward

The build-up creates what analysts call “anticipatory energy”. When done well, this can reignite cultural relevance and generate excitement well beyond fashion insiders. Yet the stakes are high. A blank slate promises reinvention, and if what follows feels underwhelming, backlash can be swift – similar to what we saw with Jaguar back in April 2025, with a dramatic drop of sales confirming the rebranding failure.

There are also risks of alienating long-time Gucci customers, or of leaning too heavily on nostalgia without enough innovation. At the same time, Gucci’s commercial reality looms large. Sales have faltered in recent years, and Demna’s creative overhaul must eventually translate into products that resonate both culturally and commercially.

What to expect under Demna

Gucci’s reset under Demna illustrates the evolving interplay between creativity, storytelling and digital culture in luxury fashion. The Instagram wipe and the announcement of a film at Milan Fashion Week are not incidental marketing flourishes but strategic markers of transition. They transform absence into anticipation, mystery into participation, and heritage into a prelude for reinvention.

As the fashion world awaits Demna’s first runway collection in March 2026, the narrative has already begun. In a landscape where perception often precedes product, Gucci has ensured that its rebirth is not only watched, but actively discussed. What happens next on the runway will determine whether this digital prologue becomes the opening scene of a triumphant new era – or a story of expectations unmet.