Gucci's Post-Michele Future, Revealed

When Gucci creative director Alessandro Michele departed his post in late 2022, it left the luxury house’s design future in the air. Who will be Gucci’s new artistic overseer? How will this shape Gucci’s multibillion-dollar business and its distinctive brand vision?

All that will be made slightly clearer on January 13, when Gucci’s first post-Michele menswear show walks a Milanese red carpet at 2pm CET (that’s 8am EST).

Expect flash, expect monograms, expect ultra-indulgent clothing for any and all genders. Just don’t expect a splashy creative director announcement.

“Until a new creative organization is announced, Gucci’s design office, a team of exceptional talents, will draw upon their extensive experience and knowledge of the House to seamlessly propel Gucci’s vision into the future,” a Gucci representative said in a statement provided to Highsnobiety.

In other words, Gucci’s Fall 2023 menswear collection was designed by the in-house creative team who worked with Michele, presumably with at least some input from the now-departed Roman designer.

Alessandro Michele began working with Gucci in 2002 at the behest of then-creative director Tom Ford, eventually rising through the ranks from handbags to head of creative direction in 2015.

Michele’s romantic, borderline baroque vision for Gucci led to spiking sales and demand — consumers perpetually regarded Gucci as the industry’s hottest brand during Michele’s tenure, even as recently as late 2021. Big collaborations, thoughtful side projects, and an open mind for new tech kept Gucci on top of the world and clients intrigued.

What’s next? That’s for Gucci to know and for you to find out. Remember that it was only a year ago that Gucci broke our brains with the surprise reveal of its adidas collaboration, so we’re probably in for quite a show.

If there’s any certainty, that’s it.