Gucci reboot: Aiming for a renaissance as brand hits factory reset in Florence

If rebirth is what you want, then Florence, home of the Renaissance, is a good place to start.

- Jess Cartner-Morley

If rebirth is what you want, then Florence, home of the Renaissance, is a good place to start. Gucci, which has just switched designers after a period of plunging sales—25% down in the first quarter of 2025—showed its latest collection in a catwalk pageant that began in the 15th-century Palazzo Settimanni, where the actors Paul Mescal, Viola Davis and Jeff Goldblum, a Florence resident, had front-row seats, and continued on the street outside, where Gucci employees and fashion fans in cafes watched an alfresco lap of the show. If you hit the factory reset button in Florence, and make it glamorous, can you call it a renaissance button?