At the end of COVID, Kering was doing well, mainly on the back of their most famous house, Gucci. New money crypto millionaires dressed hat-to-shoes in their double-G monogram; women worldwide splashed on Gucci’s latest bags; and Chinese luxury consumers spent there like it was having a closing-down sale. The skies were blue, the sun was shining, and it would always stay this way. In August 2021, they were valued at $115 billion.

But it didn’t. Over the past four years, the luxury market has dramatically contracted, as the international economy slowed and Chinese consumers reigned in their spending, and few brands were hit harder than Gucci. Their creative director, Alessandro Michele — who had once brought the brand back to relevance — seemed bored and wasn’t exciting customers anymore; and his replacement, Sabato De Sarno, had few fans. His work was subtle, elegant, and beautifully made, and — as I have written — was a significant improvement over anything Michele made in his later years at Gucci. But it wasn’t selling. And so, in February, Kering sacked him and went out searching for a more attention-drawing designer.