The Art of Presentation

How a designer and house choose to present a collection has become a core marketing strategy over the last few seasons. A creative director’s choice of format – whether to display a collection stationary in a photo or in motion on a runway, with the audience seated up close to see the workmanship or too far away to view details, in a quiet and contemplative setting or on a high-energy runway - affects how an audience interprets both the emotional and visual impact of the ready-to-wear. The presentation style is also reflected in the brand’s marketing push, including its social media footprint and its ability to steer the cultural conversation, all issues clearly top of mind for brands. Below are three brands and creative directors whose vastly different presentation formats reveal the strategic success of their choices.

Gucci boutique, Paris. Photo courtesy of Savvapanf Photo / Shutterstock.

 Demna at Gucci

Demna, whose runway debut will be next February for Fall 2026, surprised everyone when he dropped both a lookbook of Gucci character archetypes and a 33-minute film, The Tiger. The addition of a film instead of just presenting a series of images not only provided product placement in a setting – world building – but also solidified Gucci’s ties with Hollywood and gave celebrity endorsement of the brand, all important elements to getting Gucci back on track.

And, in fact, many marketers thought this was a genius way to reset Gucci, even though Alessandro Michele also produced films for his collections. Although the fashion itself did not break new ground and some looks even appeared to be lifted from past shows, this sneak peek did help establish Demna’s point of view for the brand, while also dominating the cultural conversation. The only drawback was that it did feel a bit more flash than substance. Yet, Gucci is a huge ship to turnaround, and Demna needed to start somewhere.

Versace boutique, Singapore. Photo courtesy of Sorbis / Shutterstock.

 Dario Vitale at Versace

Versace was probably the most divisive show of the season. Yet, the house seems to be relishing doing things its own way in an effort to be a part of the cultural conversation (case in point: The odd tactical PR move of pre-empting their own Spring 2026 show by dressing Julia Roberts for the Venice Film Festival in a look that was then worn at the same festival by Amanda Seyfried).

Many social media comments, especially from younger fashionistas, focused on how this collection did not look like the Versace they knew. Vitale’s collection had me reviewing Versace shows from the 1980s and ‘90s to refresh myself with the world Gianni created and not the one that Donatella has molded over the last 28 years. So, while Vitale was able to refer to many elements Gianni used in his work – mixing bright colors and different fabrics in a single look, lots of leather, and his use of baroque embroideries – the disconnect for audiences means the brand has quite a lot of awareness building to do in the near term.

Vitale mentioned in an interview that part of his brand reset is loosening things up to make Versace look more “modern.” And while I appreciate his effort, he missed integrating several of the brand’s core values: Gianni Versace’s work - as well as Donatella’s - was always super glamorous, ultra sexy, and extremely precise, both in tailoring and styling. And that is where the train came off the track with this show for me personally. For example, the first look appeared sloppy, which had nothing to do with the model and everything to do with the styling.

A potentially bigger issue for the brand is that the garments did not look very luxurious. Vitale’s opening exits were tops that looked like layered T-shirts. Since we’re talking about runway pieces, I would expect these items to be priced at a minimum of $1,200. At a time when clients are obsessed with quality and Italian luxury CEOs are expressing concern over business declines in every market, is this the kind of clothing that people will pay top dollar for?

I don’t know.

But what this controversial show lacked in styling precision and luxe-looking fabrications, it seems to have more than made up for in social and traditional media chatter. In fact, Vanessa Friedman pointed out in her weekly Open Thread newsletter that nearly seven days after the show people were still talking about it, and that is a success in itself (even bad PR is ultimately good PR, right?). So, I’m guessing regardless of the collection’s reception, Versace is probably looking at their new visibility as a win this season.

Diesel. Image courtesy of Sudong Kim / Shutterstock.

 Glen Martens for Diesel

Though Glen Martens is not a newbie to Diesel (he has been its creative director since October 2020), he is proving to be a master at turning the traditional runway show into a new kind of spectacle. This is especially important for the brand’s young audience, as Diesel’s core demographic is Gen Z (Vogue Business). For Spring 2026, Martens devised an experiential Easter egg-like hunt where 55 looks were placed in 18 different locations around Milan. A fun and immersive experience for audiences, it also had an actual takeaway as the first five people who found all the models received a look from the collection. 

Martens stated the show was a game to prove that “everybody gets to be on the front row” (Hypebeast) a value completely in line with Diesel’s “democratic luxury” ethos. The format allowed audience members to see every look closely, giving them a chance to observe Martens’ incredible fabric techniques. It also gave individualized attention to those more commercial exits, which tend to get lost in a runway presentation since only the most editorial outfits get media push.

Let’s Wrap It Up

Only time will tell how these brands will fare next season, but in this economic and cultural environment every detail counts. Which is why creative directors need to be strategic in considering how they present their collections and if a particular format will lead to a more successful outcome. Despite the popularity of runway shows, they are increasingly expensive to produce and not always the best way to communicate a creative director’s vision for the season. Moving forwards, brands looking to connect with their audiences in unique ways will need to explore alternative, high impact formats for showcasing their latest work.