Gucci, in London romance, colour and nostalgia but without fearless creativity

London's importance as an incubator of the new, a forge of true progressive cross-fertilisation is unquestionable, if, in the present day, largely exaggerated. What is still the case today is that fashion and culture in London resist, one would say briefly, the galloping, algorithmic homologation. It is with this in mind as a free zone of infinite possibilities, conjunctions and reinventions that Gucci, in the person of creative director Sabato De Sarno, chose London as the location for the Cruise 2025 fashion show, held on 13 May.

The event has a title that lies somewhere between hope and exhortation - We'll always have London - while the venue is the Tate Modern, a lively and aggregative cultural institution, itself the result of the reinvention, now twenty-four years ago, of a pre-existing industrial building. In short, the pieces of the story are all there. De Sarno, who once again neither speaks nor illustrates verbally, shirking the confrontation, entrusts his explanations to a letter, placed on the metal seats: "Exploring a creative direction means entering a pre-existing space and making it see through your eyes, going from room to room in order to reshape the building," he says. "I owe a lot to this city, which has welcomed me and listened to me. The same goes for Gucci, whose founder was inspired by his London experience. The return of the fashion house is motivated by the desire to immerse ourselves in the unmistakable essence, in the creative force of London, with its infinite capacity to relate contrasts and make them dialogue, encouraging co-existence'.

The collection is in fact an act of coexistence: it combines what one would say is De Sarno's signature - monochrome purity, over-the-top in execution but exceedingly normal in appearance - with copious samples from the Gucci archive, from Tom Ford's seductions to Alessandro Michele's pussy bow and pearls. In between there is also Miuccia Prada, a bit of Matthieu Blazy's Bottega Veneta and a lot of 60s and 70s vintage, complete with high martingales, protest chamois, Anglomania tartan and wild camomile prints.

Full-blown archives for handbags, and very desirable booties in the form of ballet shoes with clamps and teddy girl creepers with white socks. It's a great collage of 'London-style', that is: a dance of contrasts amalgamated in harmonious disequilibrium; certainly De Sarno's best proof so far. The rigour of the lines is charged with a moderate romanticism, but what is missing is the fearless spirit of London, the vitality of ideas that are not born in vitro but from authentic energy. There is a feeling of creative fear, perhaps born of a fear of becoming irrelevant. However, now would be the time to really dare, because fashion in general, not just this brand, badly needs it.