Gucci Pre-Fall 2026 marks a turning point for Demna. Drawing on personal desire, Tom Ford–era nostalgia and an obsession with weightlessness, he presents an intimate, sharply defined vision of modern luxury. Body-conscious tailoring, reworked archival references, tech-light materials and accessories made for his own needs build a narrative in which the designer places himself at the center, and propels Gucci into a new emotional and sensory chapter.
“Actually it’s a little bit of a selfish bag, because I made it for myself,” Demna said of the Lunetta Phone+, his first bag design for Gucci. The wrist-strapped pouch can hold only a wallet and phone. Demna redesigned racing jackets from the archive because the fits felt too ’90s. He had Valigeria ballerinas made in his size with pointed toes. He brought back V-neck T-shirts because he remembers desperately wanting them when he was younger.
This consumer-first approach shapes his entire vision for the Florentine house. “As a designer, my challenge and my mission is to create products that trigger desire,” he explained. He believes that commercial success means actually connecting with people. You create new desire through identity and intelligent product design. Storytelling alone won’t cut it anymore.
The Pre-Fall 2026 images explicitly reference Ford’s tenure. Demna photographed the lookbook himself, recreating the spotlight effect from Gucci’s 1996 shows. Some looks were based directly on archival pieces. Demna wanted to capture “the Gucci show that we missed,” and his fascination with Ford’s era runs deep.
“I admire it because it really was a starting point in my understanding fashion,” Demna said. He praised Ford’s intelligence and his ability to create a style, calling it rare in the industry. The Tom Ford period remains the most visually symbolic for his generation. You can see why. Those shows sparked fashion FOMO for millions of people who couldn’t stop thinking about what they had seen.
However, when Demna contacted the original manufacturer of an archival pink silk faille suit, he found that technology had changed in the last three decades. The fabric came out slightly different, with a lived-in effect. Sometimes, you can’t go home again.
Demna’s Gucci aesthetic is body-conscious for women and men. This represents a departure from his previous work at Balenciaga and Vetements, where oversized proportions dominated. The collection opened with a powder pink suit and legging-like pants and pencil skirts followed.
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He credits this change to his improved relationship with his own body. “I think that’s how it is with creative work; it has to go through you,” he noted. This subjective starting point sparked a broader consideration of fit. He established a small atelier in Milan for creating toiles and maquettes. He wants to approach sizing with more precision than conventional grading allows.
“We all have different proportions,” Demna said, adding, “I’m not a good designer if I can only make clothes for models.”
Weightlessness became a priority across apparel and accessories. Demna finds that most luxury products feel rigid and heavy. Brands equate durability with stiffness and weight, but he disagrees. His idea of luxury today sits at the opposite end of the spectrum.
He demonstrated this by lifting a bulky-looking coat made of black feathers stitched into mousseline. It weighed almost nothing. A restrictive-looking, bonded wool scuba top was surprisingly supple. He removed the side seams and front pockets from jeans and hid them in the waistband. Through rigorous minimalization, a tracksuit template became a chic black cashmere silk-jersey travel suit.
“Looking at the ’90s archives of Tom Ford’s era, I noticed how everything was much lighter and more refined,” he explained. You wanted to wear or hold the products. Why would anyone want to carry a five-kilo jacket on their shoulders?
The collection drew inspiration from multiple Gucci eras. Classic ’70s codes appeared through GG monograms and Web stripes. Demna examined Frida Giannini’s tenure and found rare Italian feminine glamour. Pussy-bow blouses, floral pleated skirts, and equestrian silk scarf dresses had sensual undertones with side slits.
Bolder pieces stood out. A leopard coat bonded with leather could double as a dress. Evening gowns brought glitz. Furry textures appeared in coats that mixed shearling, feathers, and muslin strips, yet remained lightweight. Devoré velvet was used for see-through pants. Leather was used for biker jackets with web motifs and scuba-inspired pieces.
Accessories included new versions of the Jackie 1961 bag, a sleeker, more geometric Dionysus style, and the pointed ballet flats Demna wanted for himself.
“It feels very liberating for me creatively now to just make stuff without overthinking it,” Demna said. He uses his emotional response as a filter rather than his intellect or concepts. While the La Famiglia bridge collection categorized core ingredients through archival archetypes, this second chapter allowed him to experiment more freely.
He dubbed the Pre-Fall 2026 collection “Generation Gucci” and considers it an extension of his archetypal character concept. The collection clarifies his direction ahead of his first runway show in February during Milan Fashion Week. While he continues to riff on ’70s codes, his fascination with Ford deepened alongside a minimalist approach.
Materials ranged from canvas to rich suede. Silk and cashmere were used to craft relaxed tailoring, such as jogging suits, for an elevated airport look. Denim was cut into seamless, minimal separates. He investigated fabrics to establish the foundation of his Gucci lexicon.
“Fashion needs to be edgy,” Demna concluded. This collection revealed more about what Gucci’s edge will look like under his leadership. The answer appears to be personal, nostalgic, and surprisingly light.