Demna’s Gucci silk launch
Gucci, under Demna, launched a campaign called ‘The Art of Silk’ that leans on 1960s archival scarves and cravats. The social briefing highlighted the collection and its retro references as part of Gucci’s new push (x.com). The campaign was presented as a focused leather‑and‑silk luxury edit tied to house heritage (x.com).
Gucci has put silk at the center of its latest image reset, rolling out “The Art of Silk” as Demna begins his first year at the house. (kering.com) The project ties together a campaign starring Julia Garner, photographed by Steven Meisel, a new scarf push called “90×90,” and an Assouline book tracing Gucci’s silk history. WWD reported the campaign and scarf launch were set for April 1, 2025, with Paris events on April 2. (wwd.com) Gucci said the campaign celebrates its “storied silk scarves,” while WWD reported nine artists were asked to reinterpret five archive themes: flora, fauna, nautical, equestrian and the GG Monogram. (gucci.com, wwd.com) The timing sits inside a leadership change. Kering announced on March 13, 2025, that Demna would become Gucci artistic director in early July 2025, after a period when the brand had been leaning heavily on continuity and archive cues. (kering.com, wwd.com) Silk is one of Gucci’s oldest product stories. WWD reported the house began developing silk in the 1950s, with its first precisely dated scarf produced in Como in 1958 under the nautical title “Tolda di Nave.” (wwd.com) The 1960s archive matters because that is when Gucci’s scarf language became recognizable. Illustrator Vittorio Accornero de Testa designed nearly 80 scarves for the house between 1960 and 1981, according to WWD, and his Flora print from 1966 remains one of Gucci’s best-known motifs. (wwd.com) That Flora scarf started with a royal commission. WWD reported Rodolfo Gucci asked Accornero to create it for Princess Grace of Monaco in 1966, and the design used 43 varieties of flowers, plants and insects across 37 colors. (wwd.com, wwd.com) The business backdrop is tougher than the romance of the imagery. Kering said Gucci revenue fell 25% on a comparable basis in the first quarter of 2025, and Gucci’s full-year 2025 revenue totaled €6 billion, down 19% on a comparable basis. (kering.com, kering.com) By April 2026, Kering was still framing Gucci as a turnaround project, listing first-quarter 2026 revenue materials and a capital markets presentation under the slogan “ReconKering | True Luxury. Next Luxury.” (kering.com) Demna’s first runway for Gucci has already arrived at Milan Fashion Week 2026, but this silk campaign showed the house’s opening move more clearly: start with an old Gucci category, tighten the message, and sell heritage before rewriting the wardrobe. (gucci.com, wwd.com)
