Gucci embarks on circular economy with its Continuum collection

Last February, Gucci inaugurated the Circular Hub, a platform that aims to facilitate the luxury industries' transition to sustainability and the circular economy. To pursue further in this direction, the luxury brand is launching the Gucci Continuum capsule collection, in partnership with a selection of designers and brands. The Kering Group's flagship house has called on eleven independent designers and niche labels from different backgrounds, committed to an ethical and ecological approach. They all share a desire to create haute couture or ready-to-wear models from scraps and stocks of unused prestige materials.

The designers involved include Alpha Industries, Alice Pons, Rare Review, Slam Jam, Egonlab, and Call of the Void, among others. In this first line, each designer has incorporated materials not used by Gucci into their designs. These pieces are then sold in the online concept store, Gucci Vault.

Gucci Continuum will not stop with this initiative, but will regularly offer new collections, drawing on the creativity and ingenuity of different creative talents. The collection becomes the concrete result of the Circular Hub launched last month, accompanied by an investment of 15 million euros over a three-year period, to produce exclusive pieces where every phase of creation and every detail of the production process is analyzed in terms of circularity. Each stage of production is taken into account to optimize a responsible approach, from eco-packaging to the traceability of each model, through the choice of eco-compatible materials.

If successful, Kering plans to gradually involve the other houses. The share of Gucci in revenues of the group of François-Henri Pinault is about 57%: a significant percentage that makes the success or weaknesses of the fashion house greatly influence the financial health of the group. This explains why the holding company is focusing its energy on its flagship brand.

In 2023, Gucci is betting on innovation after the difficulties encountered in 2021 and 2022, particularly with the departure of the designer Alessandro Michele. In comparison, the activities of the LVMH group are much more diversified: all the activities related to the "fashion and leather goods" sector represent "only" 47% of the reported sales.