By Sirena Kuo
Gucci introduces “We Will Always Have London,” a fresh campaign under Creative Director Sabato De Sarno that highlights the Gucci Blondie bag and the Cruise 2025 collection. Shot by the iconic Nan Goldin, the campaign features cultural icons Debbie Harry and Kelsey Lu, embodying the spirit of London—a city that has always been close to Gucci’s heart.
Each season, De Sarno’s creative direction for Gucci has shifted and evolved, from the subtle elegance of Spring Summer 2024 to the exploration of new sensuality in Fall Winter 2024. Now, for Cruise 2025, the story is set against the iconic streets and moods of London, the city that has long inspired Gucci’s creative pulse. Over a century ago, a young Guccio Gucci worked as a liftboy at The Savoy, where he first witnessed the sophistication of the international elite, sparking his ambition to found the House in 1921. This connection to London continues to shape the brand’s identity, a legacy that is celebrated once more in this new campaign.
Nan Goldin’s distinctive eye brings an intimate, powerful aesthetic to the campaign, infusing it with a raw, documentary-style approach. With her 2023 Academy Award-nominated documentary “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed,” Goldin has solidified her status as a visionary, and here she captures the essence of Gucci’s creative spirit—one that is free-spirited, bold, and true. Goldin follows the protagonists, Debbie Harry, Kelsey Lu, Alaato Jazyper, and Yanan Wan, through various iconic locations in London under the mystery of night, crafting a narrative that feels cinematic yet profoundly personal.
Debbie Harry, punk legend and Blondie frontwoman, pairs seamlessly with Kelsey Lu, a multi-disciplinary cellist and composer. Though from different generations, these two women share a creative energy that resonates with Gucci’s vision—a fusion of the past and the present, the classic and the experimental. Joined by Alaato Jazyper, known from Gucci’s Fall Winter 2024 campaign, and Yanan Wan, who opened the Cruise 2025 show at Tate Modern, they explore London’s iconic cabs and atmospheric spaces, giving life to the collection’s narrative.
Central to the campaign is the Gucci Blondie bag—more than an accessory, it’s a piece of Gucci’s history brought into the present. First introduced in the 1970s, its rounded emblem and spacious design speak of a liberated past, now reimagined for today’s world. The Cruise 2025 collection extends this dialogue, juxtaposing delicate laces and intricate embellishments with sharply tailored outerwear, celebrating the House’s mastery of contrasts and its ongoing journey through the interplay of bold and subtle.
