Demna Struts Into Gucci

Here’s what I can say about Demna’s debut at Gucci: I can’t recall a fashion show where I’ve taken more videos of the models walking. And I’m talking really walking. The stomp and wiggle of the models was the focal point. The clothes were the supporting cast.

Gucci’s models — including viral rappers, modelfluencers and Kate Moss — bounced their hips, threw their shoulders and clomped their coffee-cup-high heels. They marched with “I’m better than you” bravado. They walked like models in a movie about high fashion.

On the whole, this was a show about the body. About the way clothes change how we move, how we stand and indeed, how we walk. Purses were notched into the crook of elbows. Models swung them about like jilted lovers making a scene. Hands were shoved into pants pockets, pushing them down far enough to reveal a smidge of beltline skin.

Men’s waist bags were slung over shoulders, a gesture plucked from the way teen boys across Milan (and really the world) dress. As he ventured down the runway, the rapper Fakemink paused, unzipped his bag and appeared to answer a text. Another rapper, Nettspend, had an arm tucked behind his back the entire time.

T-shirts were worn with one side popped up on the shoulder. Was this Demna making a connection to the Roman toga? His call back to the way people dressed, in the very place we were sitting, centuries ago? Or was it just an excuse to show off the model’s abs?

And that brings me to the clothes, which mostly felt like tools to get across Demna’s fascination with the body — the lean, hunky, idealized body. They were slinky, sheeny and body-conscious. Plunging pants with hip cutouts, Milky Way-sparkly dresses and a glossy polo so tight at the biceps it looked as if it might burst apart. The collection landed at the intersection of reality show diva and beach club beefcake.

Kering, Gucci’s parent company, has watched its stock price sink, and it needs the Demna reset to work. This collection may make people run to the store. But it could just as well make them run to the gym instead.

A Moment on Marni

I forgot how much I missed the old Marni shows — the ones from the founder Consuelo Castiglioni, who left the brand nearly a decade ago — until I was back at the brand’s headquarters on Thursday for the Belgian designer Meryll Rogge’s Marni debut. It wasn’t just that Rogge showed where Castiglioni used to, it was that she ably mined the founder’s eccentricities.

Rogge brought the fashion kook back with boxy blazers, piled-on costume jewelry, modish paillette skirts, circus tent stripes and culinary colors. It was fun. Remember fun? That was how fashion in Milan used to be before quiet luxury made everyone so skittish, so buttoned up. To that end, Rogge’s Marni also made me think of Dario Vitale’s sole Versace collection, which sent critics wild last year, only for him to lose his job in December. I could see that energy transferring over to Marni now.

Other things worth knowing about:

The design team at Emporio Armani must be watching the resale market. The insouciant suits, Deco sweaters and pre-bruised denim work jackets it served up this time were fraternal twins of the ’80s and ’90s Armani gems that people (especially younger people) are hunting for online.
Another day, another charmingly absurd hat! This time, a knit firefighter’s helmet from Sasuphi.
The real men’s fashion drama of the week? Tyler, the Creator going after J. Press, on the brand’s Instagram. Tyler’s take (which has been deleted but is saved here), is a tidy, well-articulated piece of fashion commentary from a guy who clearly cares about the preppy brand. More than that, he’s right!
Hello, and welcome back to Jacob’s shoe corner. Today, we have some marvelous mutts from Tod’s: part driving shoe, part ballerina sneaker. Painfully on trend, but intriguing nonetheless.
I have to give Gucci credit for getting Liverpool’s mask-wearing rapper EsDeeKid (yes, the guy everyone thought was Timothée Chalamet for 24 hours) to come to its show. He sat in the front row with a ginormous croc Gucci bag at his feet.
You want to know where people are actually shopping in Milan? Supreme. On Thursday, I stopped by its store on Corso Garibaldi and waited in a sprawling line to buy a half-zip sweatshirt. Everyone around me was grabbing box logo tees and woodland camo jackets. Supreme’s still got it, folks!