“Now everything is quiet, but you have to take risks” and, moreover, change has to be forced and not just indulged in. Marco Bizzarri spoke at a talk organised by Camera Moda Fashion Trust. And reading between the lines, one understands that his goal is to redo today what he did with Gucci in 2015.
Impressing without thinking too much
Bizzarri, who has invested with Nessifashion and Forel in Elisabetta Franchi, Maccapani, Visionnaire and Design Miami, has clear ideas about the future of luxury. To get out of the current quagmire, according to the manager, drastic choices must be made. As he did at Alessandro Michele‘s first fashion show for Gucci in 2015. “A large part of the press did not understand the fashion show, social media slaughtered us”, he continues. “But consumers want and ultimately do not want change, so you have to be the one to force it”. And indeed, that version of Gucci worked, mainly thanks to the radical transformation of the business model, as well as the aesthetics. Bizzarri was CEO of Gucci from 2015 to 2023, with sales tripling to EUR 10.5 billion.
Nothing moves
According to the manager, today, as in 2015, everything is flat, aesthetically but also on a narrative level. “It is a difficult time for the industry, but now fashion has raised its prices exaggeratedly”. Bizzarri points out that the aspirational value of luxury has been lost, leaving a vacuum in that market segment. To get out of this dead end, once again, the answer lies in creativity. “One must continue to take risks, while remaining true to oneself. And the combination of creative direction and CEO is the basis of any possible success”. Bizzarri therefore dreams of an exploit like the one achieved with Gucci, but starting with a structural revolution.
The post-Gucci era
But it is also necessary to work on young people. How? “By creating desirability, craftsmanship, and above all narrative in the sub-luxury bracket (precisely the aspirational one) but with a healthy business model”. And with respect to fashion cycles, the manager is sure that the current one is coming to an end. “Today it is more a problem of supply than demand in the market because everything is quiet luxury, but fashion and sexy will return, being cycles we have witnessed over and over again in the past”.
Image from Gucci’s Facebook profile
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