'Brilliant artist': Provocateur Demna takes on slumping Gucci
PARIS, JUL 6 – Demna takes over Gucci as chief creative officer to address a 23% sales decline, after boosting Balenciaga's revenue from $350 million to $2 billion, Kering said.
- Demna will stage his final Balenciaga show on Wednesday during Paris Haute Couture week before joining Gucci the next day as chief creative director.
- He built Balenciaga’s success over a decade using provocative streetwear-inspired designs and personal publicity while overcoming childhood trauma from fleeing war in Abkhazia.
- His tenure featured headline items like the $2,000 luxury Ikea bag, the $1,800 'trash pouch', a 2022 show for Ukrainian refugees, and celebrity endorsements from Kim Kardashian and Kanye West.
- Charli XCX called Demna 'absolutely uncompromising' and 'a brilliant artist,' while Kering CEO François-Henri Pinault praised his tremendous contribution as exactly what Gucci needs.
- Demna faces a difficult role at struggling Gucci amid a 23 percent sales slide, investor skepticism, and a 12 percent drop in Kering shares following the announcement.
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Georgian Stylist, new artistic director of Gucci ...


‘Brilliant artist’: Provocateur Demna takes on slumping Gucci
Celebrated, controversial and clearly up for a challenge, fashion designer Demna is set to step into one of the most difficult jobs in the luxury clothing industry next week as chief creative at struggling Gucci. The 44-year-old, who fled the war-wracked Georgian region of Abkhazia as a child and dropped his surname "Gvasalia" in 2021,

'Brilliant artist': Provocateur Demna takes on slumping Gucci
Celebrated, controversial and clearly up for a challenge, fashion designer Demna is set to step into one of the most difficult jobs in the luxury clothing industry next week as chief creative at struggling Gucci.
The departure of designer Demna of the Balenciaga brand is the main novelty of the Paris High Costure Week that opens on Monday, with 27 parades in programming. The 44-year-old Georgian designer will present his latest collection for the brand on Wednesday, before going to Gucci. And that is just one of the elements that add to the “drama” that is lived in the world of fashion today, after the intense changes that have occurred in the artistic d…
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