If Demna proved one thing with pre-fall 2026, it's that sexy Gucci is about to make a comeback
Gucci’s Pre-Fall 2026 collection feels like a course correction—deliberate, confident, and long overdue. Titled Generation Gucci, the lookbook is shot by Demna and framed as documentation of an imaginary show that never took place. The premise is clever, but the real impact lies in the clothes themselves: controlled, sensual, and grounded in a deep understanding of the House’s past.
This is Demna working through Gucci’s archives without reverence or irony. Instead of fixating on a single era, he folds multiple generations of Gucci codes into one cohesive wardrobe—tailoring, leather, silk, understatement—all pointing toward the designer’s forthcoming vision for the House, set to debut in February.
The collection opens with a recalibration of tailoring. Two-piece suits in archival silk faille are woven to feel gently worn, fastened with discreet clasps rather than buttons. Trousers skim the leg, pencil skirts hold their line. The effect is precise but never rigid—clothes designed to sit close to the body without announcing themselves.
Denim is reduced to its cleanest form: seamless, minimal, and almost architectural. Silk travel suits blur the boundary between ease and elegance, while technical references—wetsuit seams, mocknecks, body-hugging leather—introduce a subtle athleticism. It’s Gucci stripped of excess, yet still charged.
Outerwear introduces texture and tactility. Shearling, silk, feathers and goat hair are assembled into coats that feel light and fluid, constructed atop sheer bases that soften their presence. Eveningwear continues the theme: lingerie-inspired pieces, draped miniskirts, and pared-back gowns in jersey and chiffon. It’s sensual without nostalgia, adult without austerity.
Accessories reinforce the message. Ballet flats return in men’s sizing, loafers are unstructured and light, heels prioritise wearability. The Jackie 1961, Dionysus and Lunetta Phone+ are reworked into sharper, more contemporary forms—recognisable, but recalibrated.
Generation Gucci doesn’t chase spectacle. That's part of why it's hitting us so hard. Instead, it builds tension through restraint, precision and a renewed focus on the body. Sexy Gucci isn’t being reinvented here—it’s being reinstated. And it looks very much at home.
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