For Sabato de Sarno’s second menswear collection, he turns Gucci into a respite for oneself by inviting us into the two places he finds freedom at — the museum and the beach.
There’s a misconception that all fashion should be escapist — that it should offer some respite from reality and fuel our senses into uncharted territory. Today, it’s become a running theme for most designers that they’d hardly ever look toward our immediate surroundings for inspiration. So when a collection presents memoirs of the everyday, interestingly, it can also become the freshest thing you’d ever see. Enter the age of anti-anti-fashion, where things that reflect the real world are now hot on the desirable scale. And putting himself in the middle of this is Sabato de Sarno at Gucci.
For Spring Summer 2025, the creative director drew attendees at Milan Fashion Week to the authentic places where he finds freedom. There are two in particular: the first is at the museum, which also became the setting for the show, while the other is the beach, a place where everyone converges to do nothing. These are his remedies for self-care — perfect do-not-disturb vacations. Not the kind about bingeing on a new culture or embracing a new personality, but about finding time for yourself amongst a sea of others looking for the same.
They were all remedies in his quest to find freedom. “Like the sea that washes every shore without prejudice, so too a museum is an entirely open space, nourishing those who are drawn to it,” shares de Sarno in the collection’s notes. “Ultimately, it speaks about freedom. I feel free when there is no distance between my words and my thoughts, between my actions and my heart. I hope that people feel free and welcomed in my clothes.”
To picture these scenarios, the clothes come heavy in their references to both the art found in museums and the perfect beachwear. On slouchy, Summer shirts were a fixation on pop-art-like motifs, such as graphic prints of surfers on surfboards and vivid renditions of flora. Long, weave-knit polos, as well as boxy outerwear were exceptional illustrations of vacation outfits that can make the beach sparkle again, after the somber years of athleisure. To add on the realness, even leather for scorching heat feels light and easy, and is a test site for experimentation that doesn’t draw itself far away from reality.
