Greetings from Milan Fashion Week, where the rain has, quite literally, dampened the proceedings, throwing off the plans of many brands who planned to present their collections outside, including Diesel, Moncler and Gucci.
That doesn’t mean it hasn’t been a pivotal week for Italian fashion. Most interesting were the designer debuts at Gucci and Tom Ford, which made for an interesting juxtaposition: Peter Hawkings’ first collection as Tom Ford’s creative director, influenced by his great mentor Mr Ford’s 1990s-era take on Gucci, came the night before Sabato de Sarno staged his debut outing for Gucci itself.
So, who did Gucci better? That’s been the key topic of conversation over the last 24 hours in Milan. De Sarno’s offering was a clear move away from the whimsical Gucci of his predecessor Alessandro Michele, but his ability to share a clear vision for the future of the brand was disadvantaged by a last-minute location change (yes, the rain) from the streets of Milan’s bougie Brera district to a big box at the company’s Via Mecenate headquarters.
But one should never judge a designer on their first outing alone — especially for a brand the size of Gucci, where moving parts are many. Anyone entering such a big role should be given the time and space to develop and roll out a vision over more than a season.
As for Hawkings, his debut collection was quintessential Tom Ford, and that also meant quintessential Gucci by Tom Ford, as that was where Ford first laid down the DNA that set the fashion industry alight in the 1990s and which he ultimately baked into his own label. When you have worked with someone like Ford for so long (25 years!) as Hawkings has, how do you know where your mentor’s ideas ends and your own creativity starts?
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