DEMNA’S “TIGER” ROARS: GUCCI UNVEILS NEW ERA THROUGH CINEMATIC DEBUT

Gucci’s new chapter under creative director Demna doesn’t begin with a runway, it begins with a roaring 30-minute film. The Tiger, co-directed by Spike Jonze and Halina Reijn, premiered on the opening evening of Milan Fashion Week, bringing Demna’s La Famiglia collection to life through a surreal, family-drama narrative populated by archetypes, tension, and high fashion.

In the story, Demi Moore plays Barbara Gucci, a formidable matriarch and head of Gucci International, whose birthday celebration spirals into emotional chaos as masks slip and power dynamics reveal themselves. Guest roles by Elliot Page, Keke Palmer, Edward Norton, Ed Harris, and more flesh out a dysfunctional dynasty as the film’s chic visuals shift between opulence and fracture.

Rather than a traditional fashion show, viewers saw the collection through character and narrative: gowns, coats, suiting, and dresses were integral to the film’s emotional language. The clothes wore the characters just as the characters wore the clothes, a deliberate gesture from Demna to fuse identity, myth, and couture.

The launch strategy signals that Gucci under Demna intends to play with storytelling, satire, and spectacle rather than standard seasonality. As the first real moment of his tenure, The Tiger sets a tone: bold, theatrical, layered, and very Gucci, but through a new, slightly off-kilter lens.