Sabato De Sarno makes highly anticipated debut at Gucci under the gaze of Hollywood stars

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Sabato De Sarno wants people to fall in love with Gucci again, titling his debut collection “Gucci Ancora,” Italian for “Gucci Again.”

MILAN — MILAN (AP) — Sabato De Sarno wants people to fall in love anew with Gucci — his Gucci — calling his debut collection “Gucci Ancora,” Italian for “Gucci Again.”

The title is a touching admission of the challenges facing Gucci's new creative director, who joined the fashion powerhouse this summer from Valentino, where he worked for 14 years after stints at Prada and Dolce & Gabbana.

The question is: can De Sarno do again what his predecessor Alessandro Michele was able to achieve by exciting the public to swarm to Gucci, pacing revenues at a sustained double-digit growth for French owner, Kering? Until the inevitable dip.

De Sarno’s debut Friday, nine months after being hired in the wake of Michele’s surprise departure, was the most anticipated on the Milan Fashion Week calendar for next spring and summer womenswear.

The fervor was enough to fill the front row with Hollywood A-listers including Julia Roberts and Ryan Gosling. Anti-fur protesters briefly infiltrated the runway, creating a momentary flurry before being quietly removed.

What the collection wasn’t: It wasn’t overtly sexy in a sultry way, like in the Tom Ford-era. Nor was it eclectic, like Michele’s romantic, gender-fluid vision. Both marked boom periods in the 100-year history of the brand founded by Guccio Gucci after a stint as a bellhop in London.

In one recent interview, De Sarno professed admiration for Brutalist architecture, suggesting a love of the essential, and his collection was exactly that.

The Gucci logo was sparingly deployed. The Gucci stripe made a few cameo appearances.

A simple gray sweatshirt excited