Demna Took Over Gucci, Attempting to Reverse the Continuous Decline for Ten Consecutive Quarters
When Demna Gvasalia took the helm as creative director at Gucci in mid-2025, the brand was trapped in an unprecedented crisis: ten straight quarters of declining revenue, eroding market share, and fading cultural relevance. Annual sales had plummeted 19% to below €6 billion, dragging down Kering’s overall performance and widening the gap with rivals LVMH and Hermès. Tasked with pulling Gucci out of its longest slump in modern history, Demna launched a radical, all-round reboot of design, storytelling, and commercial strategy to reignite desire and restore the brand’s leadership.
Demna’s first move was a complete aesthetic overhaul. Drawing on his success at Balenciaga, he merged Gucci’s iconic heritage—such as the horsebit, double-G logo, and red-green web—with his signature sharp, futuristic, and street-influenced silhouette. He discarded the overly eclectic romanticism of the Michele era and the muted minimalism of his successor, crafting a cohesive, confident new identity. His debut collection La Famiglia blended sensual tailoring, structured leather goods, and modern elegance, aiming to recapture fashion authority while appealing to younger consumers.
On the commercial side, he adopted a “see-now-buy-now" model to shorten cycles and drive instant sales. High-profile campaigns, including a fashion film directed by Spike Jonze, generated massive social media buzz and boosted foot traffic in flagship stores. Demna also pushed for a more rational pricing structure, adjusting inflated price points and expanding entry-level offerings to win back aspirational buyers while preserving premium exclusivity. The brand streamlined its product lineup, cutting underperforming lines to focus on high-margin leather goods, Gucci’s historic strength.
Early signs indicate the turnaround is taking hold. The pace of revenue decline slowed significantly in the following quarters, beating market expectations. Core leather categories rebounded, and Gucci regained traction in key markets like Asia-Pacific. While ten quarters of decline cannot be reversed overnight, Demna’s bold vision has halted the free fall, injected urgency into the brand, and reconnected Gucci with cultural conversation. For Kering, this appointment represents a high-stakes bet to reclaim one of luxury’s most iconic names—and so far, it is moving Gucci from decline to recovery.
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