It's not that Sabato De Sarno wants the moon

Sabato De Sarno called his latest Gucci collection 'Casual Grandeur', and it certainly felt that way from start to finish, in a high-octane, packed show on a hot Friday in Milan.

Gucci's recent results have been pretty dismal (although many major fashion brands have also suffered double-digit revenue declines in recent quarters). But you wouldn't have guessed it from this star-studded show, all of whom looked extremely chic and sexy.

Kirsten Dunst was in attendance with her husband, Julia Garner, and her husband, Mark Foster; they were joined by Solange Knowles, Dree and Mariel Hemingway, Debbie Harry, Nicola Coughlan, Sveva Alviti, Mark Ronson and Dakota Johnson. Everyone seemed to be having a great time, which is a testament to the power of Gucci, which remains by far the biggest brand in Italy.

The event, held inside the city’s rationalist-era art institute, the Triennale, was once again marked by the invitation and the catwalk, both done in De Sarno’s signature Gucci Rosso, or bright burgundy. The invitation was actually a naive railway poster, the dates of which could be changed indefinitely, reminding us that De Sarno’s main drive is to renew Gucci’s DNA.

When he was appointed, Gucci executives expressed a desire to return to a more classic Gucci, after the circus and Venetian carnival excesses of his predecessor, Alessandro Michele. So you can't blame Sabato for following that lead.

She started things off in black, with masculine trousers and doublets, before upping the tone with finely draped halterneck cocktail dresses also in black, then brown and red, all anchored by a fantastic new moccasin-style boot. She didn't hesitate to load up on colour. First with excellent sporty trench coats and straight-cut patent leather coats; and of course, with a Gucci Bamboo in red crocodile.

See catwalk

Just like last season, she showed plenty of sheer lace dresses and column dresses in pastel shades of black and red, the better to show off the boudoir lingerie. Although the atmosphere was made less grandiose by her elegant leather fetish punk ideas, not looks for a girl who wants to crawl into bed with a good book. Especially when they turned up in huge GG monogrammed coats, very feminine on the prowl.

Sabato's bags are strong and forceful: a revamped Gucci 73 with a horse bit on the side and, above all, his new Gucci Bamboo selections: made with a softer touch, finished with lacquer or plexiglass, composed of zebra stripes or completed with a large black kiss.

While the brand's famous scarves were given a new lease of life as hippie-style headbands, a mood that was accentuated by satin-trimmed Henleys, microbubble miniskirts and oversized cloche hats.

De Sarno closed this final Gucci show with the famous Italian rock ballad, 'Non Voglio Mica la Luna', which means 'It's not as if I wanted the moon', and one couldn't help but think it was a cry for understanding in a very unforgiving industry.

“It's the music I grew up with. I'm younger than that song, but my mom played it all the time,” she laughed.

To be honest, it was hard to sip an espresso in Milan this week without someone in the fashion world asking you if you think this is De Sarno’s last show. Given Gucci’s weak results, that question has been on everyone’s lips this current Italian fashion season. But given the overall energy of this collection and how well its front row looked, maybe we can put the P45 models aside for a while, huh?