Gucci’s Fall-Winter 2025 collection isn’t just fashion—it’s a time machine wrapped in wool, silk, and horsebits. No, really. With the iconic Interlocking G motif celebrating its golden anniversary, the house delivers a collection that feels like a love letter to its past while shamelessly flirting with the future. Imagine cinematic Italian elegance but with a modern script rewrite: ‘sprezzatura’ (that intoxicating blend of effortlessness and precision) meets sharp tailoring, billowing drapery, and a splash of ‘what did I just witness?’ brilliance. 

Menswear and womenswear tango together on the runway, where classic British suiting fabrics unexpectedly slink into fluid shirting, and the house’s signature horsebit motif multiplies like a designer fever dream across bags, belts, and—because Gucci loves an extra touch—waist chains. And before we fast-forward to the future, let’s rewind to four names who rewrote Gucci’s menswear playbook. 

The Tom Ford Era 

  
Step into the time machine and land in the mid-’90s, when Gucci was hanging by a thread—not in the chic, deconstructed way. Enter Tom Ford, a Texan with the fashion sensibilities of a Hollywood director. Ford didn’t just save Gucci—he turned it into the embodiment of sex, power, and a certain kind of moneyed hedonism. His menswear was a cocktail of sharp tailoring, monochrome suits, and silk shirts unbuttoned to ‘suggestive but not scandalous’ levels. He made suiting dangerous, transforming it from a corporate uniform into a weapon of seduction. Under Ford, the Gucci man was the kind of guy who could walk into a room and silence it—not with words, but with the sheer force of his perfectly cut black suit. 

Frida Giannini’s Understated Elegance 

After Ford’s departure, Frida Giannini took the helm in 2006, ushering in an era of quiet sophistication. If Ford’s Gucci was about provocation, Giannini’s was about polished luxury with a touch of nostalgia. She revived the brand’s archival prints, played with military-inspired tailoring, and introduced a more relaxed, wearable aesthetic. Her menswear collections leaned into refined masculinity—sharp but softened, structured but not stiff. It was Gucci for the modern gentleman, one who valued craftsmanship over theatrics. 

Alessandro Michele’s Maximalism 

  
Fast forward to 2015, and Ford’s razor-sharp Gucci had softened into something wilder, dreamier, and wonderfully bizarre. Alessandro Michele arrived like a maximalist wizard (much like the way he dresses), conjuring up a Gucci that felt like a thrift store time capsule filtered through a Renaissance painting. His menswear was unapologetically flamboyant: embroidered velvet blazers, pussy-bow blouses, brocade suits that looked like they belonged to a rockstar who also happened to be a poet in another life. Michele blurred gender lines, toyed with historical references, and made it clear that Gucci was now a playground for self-expression. If Ford’s Gucci man was James Bond, Michele’s was more David Bowie meets Harry Styles—a little eccentric, a lot fearless. 

Sabato De Sarno’s Brief Tenure and the Core of Gucci 

  
And now, in 2023, enter Sabato De Sarno—a new chapter in Gucci’s ever-evolving story, though a brief one. De Sarno stripped back the theatrics, steering the brand toward a modern, pared-down luxury that felt both fresh and familiar. His take on Gucci menswear was precise and refined, with an emphasis on impeccable tailoring, rich textures, and a return to the essence of Italian elegance. Though his tenure was short-lived, it became part of Gucci’s ever-adapting identity, a reminder that the brand has always been in motion, evolving with the times while never losing sight of its core DNA. 

Menswear Staples in FW25 

And now, we arrive at FW25, where Gucci pulls off the impossible: merging these four distinct eras into something new, unexpected, and effortlessly cool. Ford’s love for precision tailoring resurfaces in structured suits with razor-sharp lapels, while Michele’s playfulness lingers in fabric experimentation—brushed mohair shirting, coated wools, and slubbed tweeds that nod to classic British menswear before subverting it entirely. Giannini’s refined touch can be felt in the clean lines and understated elegance, while De Sarno’s modern minimalism leaves traces in the collection’s crisp, unembellished tailoring. 
  

Then there’s the Horsebit. Ah, the Horsebit. Celebrating its 70th anniversary, it’s Gucci’s ultimate signature move, showing up everywhere: on bags, jewellery, and even waist chains (because why not?). From the oversized, ultra-soft Horsebit 1955 bag to the ultra-luxe Gucci Siena with its half-Horsebit click fastening, the motif cements itself as the ultimate Gucci insignia. And let’s not forget the footwear—because Gucci at its best is always about the details—where the Horsebit takes pride of place on sleek, elegant slippers that are equal parts effortless and extravagant. 

Gucci’s Fall-Winter 2025 collection isn’t just about clothes; it’s about the art of reinvention. It’s a bridge between the past and the present, a collection that tips its hat to its former guardians while daring to create something new. And if there’s one thing we’ve learned from Gucci’s history, it’s that reinvention isn’t just a strategy—it’s the brand’s lifeblood.