After 2024 was a record year for creative director changes, it looks like 2025 will give it a run for its money and the latest big-name change was announced on Thursday as Kering said Sabato De Sarno is out at Gucci.

The luxury giant said its star label is ‘ending its collaboration’ with De Sarno and the change will be quick with the AW25 fashion show in Milan on February 25 being presented by the Gucci design office.

We’re told that “the new artistic direction will be announced in due time”.

De Sarno has been praised for his collections by some, although others have said they lacked the massive buzz created by former Gucci star creative chiefs such as Tom Ford and Alessandro Michele.

Regardless of the buzz around the brand, the fact is that its performance has been declining and in its latest quarter, Kering reported that Gucci sales were down 25%, worse than the 21% decline analysts had expected.

Yet Stefano Cantino, CEO of Gucci, said: “I would like to express my deep gratitude to Sabato for his passion and dedication to Gucci. I sincerely appreciate how he honoured Gucci’s craftsmanship and heritage with such commitment.”

And Francesca Bellettini, Kering Deputy CEO in charge of Brand Development, added: “I sincerely thank Sabato for his loyalty and professionalism. I am proud of the work that has been done to further strengthen Gucci’s fundamentals. Stefano and the new artistic direction will continue to build on this and to guide Gucci towards renewed fashion leadership and sustainable growth.”

It gave no hint of who might replace him but there’s no shortage of big names available, or potentially available, with plenty of speculation about star creatives soon to move on from their existing labels. For now though, we’ll just have to wait and see.