Gucci taking its Cruise 2027 show to New York City’s Times Square felt more like a homecoming than an internet stunt. Yes, celebrities graced the event and found-footage advertisements filled Times Square’s screens. But New York holds a special place for the maison, as it was the location of its first store outside Italy.

In the 1980s, New York City was home to the Gucci Galleria, a space hidden above the Fifth Avenue flagship and accessible through a private entrance to clients carrying a specialized golden key. That is why, for his fourth collection for the brand, creative director Demna Gvasalia decided to dedicate it to New Yorkers.

The collection is a stylistic cross-section of the city — from Madison Avenue to Brooklyn, SoHo to Harlem, and Fifth Avenue — interpreted through the dress codes people wear on the streets. Think businesspeople in pinstripes, ladies who lunch in shearling coats, skaters in slouchy denim, and socialites in immaculate gowns. These dressing attitudes were elevated through the maison’s codes. Alta moda garments and menswear pieces were realized in croc-scale sequins, beaded fringe, and feather embroidery. Outerwear garments were given a utilitarian edge through goat hair and shearling lining, while the Web stripe took the form of a bandeau top, transforming Gucci’s signature motif since the 1950s into a singular garment.

“Guccicore” is Demna’s fourth act, bringing together his past collections for the brand—“La Famiglia,” “Generation Gucci,” and “Primavera”—with the goal of creating a permanent wardrobe grounded in pragmatic, wearable pieces.