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London called and Gucci answered. Today’s Gucci cruise 2025 fashion show at the Tate Modern had everything one could expect from the Italian fashion house: a star-studded front row, showstopping day-to-night ensembles, and most importantly, a number of lust-worthy horsebit loafers. The key accoutrement of the collection? $220 white ribbed socks.
As leggy cool-girl models paraded down the runway surrounded by an abundance of plant life, shiny black creeper loafers were on display with contrasting white cotton-blend crew socks, all featuring Gucci’s signature green and red web trim. Surprised? You should be. Though ribbed socks and women’s shoe pairings have been a long time fashion styling trick to add some interest below the knee (a favorite for Miuccia Prada), Gucci creative director Sabato De Sarno’s womenswear collections have noticeably shown models sans socks, even as the fashion set and their influenced social media followers have embraced the retro sock look, pairing the footwear essential with sandals, loafers, sneakers, and even chic slingbacks. Sure, the Gucci fall 2024 menswear collection featured plenty white cloth-covered ankles peeping out of every tailored trouser strutting down the runway, but with this new womenswear collection, a slew of short hemlines presented a new opportunity for Gucci to showcase designer socks.
As fashion continues its shift away from the maximalist days of logo-covered offerings to a more subtle “quiet luxury” aesthetic, Gucci’s instantly recognizable web trim signals the value of your everyday socks to the fashion-loving consumer without overwhelming the eye (similar to Thom Browne’s 4-Bar socks).
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Is this Gucci’s play to market more accessible goods to the aspirational luxury shopper, or is this just a new impulse purchase for the wealthy consumer to complete the total look? Either way, it caught our attention (and if you’re still reading this, it caught yours as well).
Made in Italy, the web-branded socks offer a soft, plush feel with a throwback vibe that’s also very on-trend today. While we’re not entirely sure how we would feel about pairing this recognizable Gucci sock situation with luxury footwear designed by another storied fashion house, if you are one of the millions of Gucci horsebit loafer-wearing steppers who like a fresh pair of white socks, why not kick your style up a notch with this pricey shoe accent? Plus, we highly doubt that even the shopper with the most disorganized sock drawer will ever let this pricey pair uncouple.
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Adam Mansuroglu is the Director of Commerce for Footwear News and WWD, overseeing strategy for shopping content on both brands, along with writing and editing shopping guides, product reviews, and shopping trend stories for all types of footwear, from designer shoes to athletic sneakers for both men and women. Prior to his current role, Mansuroglu was a fashion editor and stylist at Cosmopolitan Magazine, Style Editor at BestProducts.com, and Senior Style & Gear Editor for Men’s Health Magazine. Mansuroglu has been tapped as a shopping expert for editorial websites such as Wirecutter, and his writing has also appeared in Out Magazine, Esquire and other publications.
