GUCCI FW26

Demna strikes again! After a year of capsule collections and previews, fashion’s resident iconoclast has finally given us the new era of Gucci and… big shocker… It’s been Demnafied. The FW26 collection was chock-full of commentary, irony, and exaggerated characters, but given Demna’s track record that might well spell disaster. I mean he’s literally got Nettspend dressed as Hansel from Zoolander. I wish I was kidding. At this point, it’s worth asking the question: Has Demna been playing the fashion world for fools? Does he get some kind of twisted pleasure from debasing legacy houses? Or could it be the case that he’s become our demented savior, the sort of saboteur we deserve in such meaningless times. 

Essentially, the entire collection was a strange crosshatch between a club in the ‘90s and a club in 2026. On the one hand, there was all the skin-tight leather and slippery silks of Tom Ford’s legendary run at Gucci— looks that instantly call to mind an era of vibrant club culture at its peak. Nothing solidified this more than Kate Moss closing out the show in a glittering peekaboo thong gown. But on the other hand there was also an appearance by UK rapper Fakemink, who slouched onto the runway only to stop midway through just to check his phone. Even the inclusion of grotesquely muscular models in skinright polos and shiny leather pants, seemed like obvious nods to the looksmaxxing trends that have plagued our feeds in recent months. As it stands, Demna’s Gucci seems to be offering up a faded pastiche of an era that simply isn’t possible anymore, and that may be the point. 

At Balenciaga, Demna leaned into cartoonish silhouettes and over-inflation. At Gucci he has apparently gone the other way, embracing an industry-wide return to anorexic-chic. Throughout the collection, models wore form-fitting leather jackets, body-hugging gowns, and even a pair of tights turned trouser. If the ‘90s had coked-out skeletons, it seems we have been left with the far less interesting Ozempic version. Skinniness for the sake of itself. Familiar only faintly worse.  

Even the choice to send Fakemink onto the runway wearing a cross-body belt bag popularized by a bygone generation of underground rappers felt like conscious regurgitation. Nowadays, those monogrammed bags can be found at any counterfeit market and have been reproduced to oblivion. So what better way to comment on the trend turnover rate and cheapening of culture, than to put out a copy of the copy. It’s circular. It’s nauseating. It’s exactly what Demna always does, so are we even surprised?

Whether intentional or not, Demna’s attempts at recapturing cultural zeniths all feel dull and fundamentally two-dimensional. These days, everything seems is a stale do-over of the ‘90s, from skinny Gucci models rocking Tom Ford-esque hip-huggers to an entirely unwanted war in the Middle East. It’s as though Demna knows what he’s attempting is, at its core, impossible. There’s no way to fully satisfy mass nostalgia and even trying to do so, further emphasizes that resuscitation is a futile endeavor.

Of course, there were a few highlights. Slick, silk-satin suits added an element of undeniable sex to the collection, and a shearling coat, made to look like mink, further confirmed my belief that Demna’s Gucci would be better off with more fur. But again…were any of these particularly original. Not remotely. 

The executives who appointed Demna were likely hoping for his Midas touch— that same magic that brought Balenciaga into the 21st century, only this time for a struggling Gucci. But let’s not forget, this is still the man who gave us infamous moments such as the Balenciaga/Fortnite collaboration. Demna’s ability to cause uproar was never in doubt and if anything, it highlights his dangerous appeal to luxury houses. Yes, the brand will get clicks and virality, but at the end of the day, Demna will inevitably leave behind a wake of post-ironic destruction that has proven difficult to shake. 

We’ve seen this play out before and at this point, it might just be a part of Demna’s masterplan: Hop from house to house, steadily infecting the industry’s biggest brands until we’re left with a totally fresh playing field. After all, that’s the only way we’re going to get something truly new.