Bold statement: Milan Fashion Week is where designers expose who they truly are and who they aspire to become, not just what they show on the runway. And this season proves the transition is real, not just a trend. But here's where it gets controversial: public perception of Demna at Gucci is shifting dramatically after a decade of Balenciaga bravado. If you’re curious how the big names are rewriting identity, keep reading.
On the ground in Milan, day one of Fashion Week delivered notable debuts: Meryll Rogge presenting knitwear cunning at Marni, Maria Grazia Chiuri guiding Fendi with her distinctive sensibility, and, most eagerly awaited, Demna Gvasalia at Gucci. The Scoop team—Nicole Phelps, Francesca Ragazzi (Vogue Italia’s head of editorial content), and Vogue contributor Luke Leitch—were on hand to absorb every moment, with The Run-Through right beside them.
The Gucci show posed a central question: who is Demna now? After ten years of deconstruction and conceptual shock at Balenciaga—think jackets crafted from trousers, couture wrapped in endless tulle—the designer ventured into one of fashion’s most storied Italian houses with a forward-looking focus.
“It's not the same Demna,” Phelps noted immediately after the show. “At Balenciaga, he was an experimentalist. Here, the work feels foundational.”
Leitch agreed, saying, “It was definitely a new Gucci, and a new Demna.”
Away from Gucci, Meryll Rogge’s program at Marni emphasized her knitwear mastery and a genuine emotional resonance with the label—she recalls buying her first pair of Marni platforms with her first paycheck as an assistant at Marc Jacobs, and she even wore a Marni skirt to her brother’s wedding as a teen.
“She was born to do this job,” Phelps affirmed.
At Moschino, Adrian Appiolaza explored his Argentine roots, drawing inspiration from the country’s landmarks, monuments, and cultural icons. “Identity is a key theme of the season here in Milan—designers asking who they are, why they’re in business, and digging into that essence,” Phelps observed after the show.
Next stop: Paris!
