The archive · Content & Film · Marketing decision · 2025–2026
Gucci unveils Demna's debut collection as a film instead of a runway show
New creative director Demna replaced Gucci's runway debut with a campy Spike Jonze film starring Demi Moore, costumed entirely in the Spring 2026 collection.
Gucci
What it had to solve
Demna, the designer behind Balenciaga, joined Gucci as artistic director and had to introduce his first collection for the house. Instead of a traditional runway show, he chose cinema: a story-first film that could carry the collection and define the new era at once.
How it works
For his first Gucci collection, artistic director Demna skipped the runway. During Milan Fashion Week in September 2025 the house premiered The Tiger, a short film co-directed by Spike Jonze and Halina Reijn and costumed entirely from the Spring 2026 collection.
Demi Moore stars as Barbara Gucci, a matriarch gathering her children for a birthday celebration that spirals into camp melodrama; Edward Norton, Keke Palmer, Kendall Jenner and Elliot Page fill out the family. The clothes — La Famiglia — do the work a catwalk would have done.
The gamble turned the debut into an entertainment event: the film drew 1.6M views, the premiere's red carpet displayed the new pieces, and The Tiger went on to win a D&AD 2026 Silver Pencil for Direction in Fashion Film.
Why it lands
- A full story gave the collection context and emotion that a quick walk down a catwalk cannot deliver.
- Casting film stars turned the launch into culture coverage, not just fashion coverage.
- Costuming every scene from the collection meant viewers watched the clothes in motion for the film's entire run.
- Premiering in New York and Milan made the film itself the global event, replacing dozens of shows with one story.
What it did
The film replaced the debut show and drew 1.6M views on its own, its premiere red carpet displayed the new pieces like a living runway, and it later won a D&AD 2026 Silver Pencil for Direction in Fashion Film.
What you can take
When a collection has a story, the runway is optional: a film can premiere clothes with narrative weight a show cannot hold, and let the red carpet do the display.
Since then
The Tiger established Demna's first chapter at Gucci as story-first and character-driven, and the house's cinematic debut drew wide industry attention at a moment when fashion houses were increasingly commissioning directors instead of relying on runway spectacle alone. Its D&AD Silver Pencil recognized the film's craft, and the premiere's red carpet effectively became the collection's runway, showing how a launch can be built around narrative rather than a show.
Sources
- Why Are Fashion Brands Making Movies?
- Gucci ditched the runway for a 20-minute fever dream
- D&AD Winners 2026
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