Words by Alexandra Schmidt

Generation GUCCI: A Show Without A Show

The tension is palpable from the first glance. Models walk down an invisible runway. Pointed Valigeria ballerinas click softly on the floor. Leather jackets with colored web stripes fit close to the body. Coats in lambskin, silk, and feathers move lightly with every step. There is no actual show, but Demna’s lookbook conveys the feeling of a classic GUCCI runway. A stage where history is made.

Words by Alexandra Schmidt

With Generation GUCCI, Demna opens the next chapter in the house’s history, presenting the Pre-Fall 2026 collection as the lookbook of a show that never happened. He looks at the brand’s archival pieces and visual codes and interprets them through his perspective, combining them with his vision for the future. The result: pieces we can’t help wanting. As Demna puts it, “Fashion should create FOMO – the fear of missing out. I’m a fashion consumer myself, and I love when I see something and know I don’t need it. Because no one needs fashion, but I still get FOMO when I don’t have it. That’s the magic of fashion.”

Two-piece suits in archival silk, high-waisted pencil skirts, legging-fit pants with ankle slits, and seamless jeans move with the body at every step, accompanied by the confidence they convey to the wearer. Referencing GUCCI eras like Tom Ford’s, Demna still manages to inject his own sensibility: cropped tailored leather jackets with a subtle gap at the waist, revealing a peek of skin, blazers with deep necklines and unusual fastenings – the Pre-Fall 2026 collection is, above all, sexy. With a sophisticated touch.

 

The evening coats impress with their seemingly light construction in lambskin, silk, and delicate feathers. Evening looks include draped midis and flowing jersey or chiffon dresses. Racer jackets with web stripes, belts with reimagined Double-G buckles, head-to-toe leather looks, and silk ensembles pay homage to the house’s tradition.

Even the less obvious details demand attention. Loafers with oversized spikes that look almost painful and stilettos that are to die for. No less remarkable are the ballerinas and pumps featuring the classic Horsebit. A design introduced by GUCCI in 1955 that remains a defining element of the brand and a clear nod to the house’s enduring connection to equestrian tradition.

 

Bags are another highlight: the Lunetta Phone+ shoulder bag in monogram canvas, the reinterpreted Jackie 1961 in a compact, rectilinear form or enlarged and softened in calfskin and crocodile, and the Dionysus bag with its new angular shape and sharp silhouette.

Demna introduces a new approach: a show without a show. Movement, silhouettes, and materials are tangible. You don’t need to imagine the clothes in motion, you can see how they fall and interact. Generation GUCCI creates tension, surprises, and that small, irresistible desire to own something you don’t actually need.

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