IT WAS barely days ago that we were commending how the Hulu adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis’ ‘The Shards’ for their perfect portrayal of 1980s “optimistic nihilism” fashion. Little did we know that the exact same words would be applied to Demna’s Spring 2027 collection at Gucci. Who knew that preppy styling works best when you bring out its most sinister elements? Demna’s vision is less collegiate and more club.

Dubbed The Store – actually quite refreshing for a brand to deliver such an overt reminder that a runway is a literal commercial enterprise to make us want to buy things – the collection notes have described this as the first show to “completely express Demna’s vision for Gucci…shaped by everything he’s learnt since his arrival.”

Demna’s greatest asset since coming into the Italian house has been to take an inclusive approach to the brand. Inclusive, being that he hasn’t attempted an aesthetic whiplash that would leave consumers confused as to what, or who, they are buying. Demna’s Gucci is Tom Ford’s. It is Frida Giannini’s, it is Alessandro’s and there’s even touches of Sabato’s and even Dawn Mello and Maurice era Gucci. Provenance is something that Demna has never been scared of approaching (see how he worked with it at Balenciaga) and he’s doing it his way, again, at Gucci. Reference, revise, refine and reinvent are arguably the cardinal points on Demna’s design compass.

But to the clothes… Two things apply to Gucci when the brand is operating at its strongest: sex appeal and aspiration. And it’s exactly the energy that Demna has tapped into with The Store.

The preppy codes are all present and correct. Cropped trousers and loafers worn without socks open the menswear with a distinctly Italian attitude, followed by sharp, fitted tailoring with pagoda shoulders cut in stonewashed fabrics. This is the wardrobe of a young man who left the quad at midnight with no intention of being home before sunrise. Cropped, puff-shaped outerwear over slim, slouchy denim completes the picture, a silhouette made for the back room of a members’ club, set to loki’s playful bossa nova soundtrack. Tailoring moves in the opposite direction: draped, elongated and elegant with the sense that the oversized proportions were improvised (the way the best examples of style, as opposed to fashion, is).

Commerce is never far away. Horsebits appear at every scale, most memorably on the 3X cummerbund belt, which becomes a slim party bag. There is a new angular-toed loafer on a driver sole. Logos are present in measured doses – down the arm of a leather jacket, a monogrammed lining –  and much of the status sits in the cut, which is where stealth wealth has always been found.

Key trends seen on the runway

Pop and layer those collars.

    Belts no longer need to be functional.

    Yes, that that rugby shirt is in fact evening attire.

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    Fendi’s Spring 2027 collection delivers a moment of self-reflection