Demi MoorePhoto by: Jacques Burga
On Friday night, the buzzy energy of Milan was punctuated with the rhythm of heels striking the cobblestones. At Il Baretto—a sophisticated eatery situated in the heart of Milan’s Fashion Quadrilateral—Gucci’s artistic director Demna was joined by Demi Moore, Kate Moss, Emily Ratajkowski, Alessandro Michele, Fakemink, and many more for an evening of celebration.
Hours after his runway debut and a star-studded outing for his third collection, it was time to raise a glass. In just three chapters, the designer has defined his idea of “Gucciness”—which requires a certain degree of confidence. It lies in the way a handbag is carried, in the lived-in eye makeup, and in the powerful strides made atop very high heels—even on those aforementioned cobblestones.
“I feel Gucci,” Amelia Grey told Vogue, shortly before taking her seat alongside her sister Delilah Belle. “It was my first show for the brand, and I am truly proud to be part of this new era.” Her look was, indeed, a tribute to the incoming future: a dress with a dramatic slit and train, towering boots, and a cross-adorned choker—think: part refined Milanese elegance, part rave-ready.
“This collection represents a perfect transition between past and future,” added Emily Ratajkowski, who wore a shimmering silver mini dress on the catwalk before slipping into an all-black ensemble with horsebit chain detailing for dinner. She was just one of many guests who embraced black for the evening, peppered here and there with classic pieces featuring the iconic double-G motif; marrying what’s to come with what has been.
Among the footwear presented on the runway were nods to the fur-lined loafers made famous by Alessandro Michele, Gucci’s designer from 2015 to 2022. Michele, seated front row at the show, took his seat beside Demna at dinner too. In a very Demna move, the designer chose not to sit at the head of the table. Another distinctly Demna gesture? Forgoing pseudo-intellectual justifications for clothes—a belief he included explicitly in the collection’s press notes. The message appears to have been received loud and clear. “What this show conveyed to me was a certain contemporary irreverence; the same feeling I sense here tonight, which makes me feel completely at ease,” actress Isabella Ferrari remarked.
No one embodies this spirit of je m’en fous—or as the kids would say, IDGAF energy—more than Kate Moss, who not only closed the show in a viral appearance, but became the most sought-after guest at the dinner, greeted and embraced by all. “She really has the allure of a fallen angel,” Alice Pagani laughed.
As for angels with a devil-may-care attitude, this new Gucci is also represented by it girl Sydney Lynn Carlson and rapper Fakemink (who both walked in the show too) as well as photographer Nadia Lee Cohen and director Aidan Zamiri, the director of Charli XCX’s The Moment. During dinner, Demi Moore was still making waves with her new headline-generating cropped hairstyle—her long locks now a softly-waved bob grazing her jawline. As always, her beloved Pilaf remained in her arms during the family-style feast.
“To a Gucci life,” declared Francesca Bellettini, president and CEO of Gucci, while inaugurating the evening with a toast. Cin cin!