Demna turns Milanese glamour on its head for Gucci SS27

Fashion

Demna used his SS27 show to declare that this was the moment he had found his voice for Gucci. He staged the runway like a boutique with models playing customers strolling past a street front where rain and sunshine traded off. The show was set to a bossa nova soundtrack; it is a more playful register than the brooding collections he opened with, and it shows.

Women’s wear leaned into a specific archetype: the Milanese sciura of the 1980s. It featured all sunglasses, jewellery and unbothered ease. The design filtered through suits that bare the midriff, leather coats slung with scarves and furs sized for maximum impact. Some looks tipped into punk territory with chain necklaces piled on.

Visually the collection plays two eras of Gucci against each other. Structured tailoring carries almost architectural shoulders. A burgundy wool coat has a raised collar. A black jacket has padded, wing‑like shoulders. Against that rigidity sit pencil skirts, tartan pleats and sheer black tights paired with stiletto pumps. This combination recurs enough to read as the show’s signature. Daytime looks stay in camel, burgundy, olive and ivory. Evening tips into leather, lace and fringe punctuated by leopard print and honey‑gold fur worn like trophies. Jacquard nod to Gucci’s tailoring archive. Gothic eye makeup, cobalt‑blue shadow and stacked chain necklaces give the polish a more insurrectionary edge.

Demna has described Gucci’s appeal as luxury that wants to be seen. This collection bears that out. The poses and attitude on the runway did much work as the clothes themselves. Familiar house codes are all present: the horsebit, the GG monogram, and the references. Layered against the 1980s Milanese swagger and a deliberately theatrical, slightly feral energy—they read less like archive homage and more like a designer finally comfortable enough in the house to remake it in his own image. Which is, by his account exactly the point.

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