Cutthroat doesn’t even begin to describe the relative speed in which Gucci has decided to end its partnership with Sabato De Sarno. The now-former creative director of the Italian house was first announced as the successor to Alessandro Michele in late January 2023, and presented his first collection—the Spring/Summer 2024 womenswear collection — in September 2023.

Slightly more than two years later, De Sarno is no longer at Gucci.

The cards were stacked against him from the very beginning. After several years of stagnant sales under Michele’s creative direction due to a shift in consumers’ tastes and preferences (and not to mention, a fatigue from the maximalist aesthetic that was an initial, phenomenal success), De Sarno was hired to focus on the House’s more timeless qualities. His debut was a stark difference from his predecessor’s aesthetic, showcasing restraint with clean silhouettes and reimagining of archival pieces. And while it was definitely a palette cleanser, the new creative direction wasn’t as buzzy as Gucci hoped it would be—the sales numbers reflected that too. It didn’t help too that De Sarno took over at a time where luxury fashion was experiencing a slowdown in demand.

De Sarno’s creative vision for Gucci was by no means a clear miss. His menswear collections proved to be his strongest suit, updating silhouettes with generous cuts and flair for a modern Gucci man. The fabrications, although looked simple at a glance, felt luxurious to the touch. But alas, for a luxury house that doesn’t have a reputation of dealing in the “quiet luxury” space, the collections didn’t translate for consumers more familiar with the heavily branded motifs signature to Gucci.

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Rumours have been abound for months now on who will take over creative reins. Gucci has yet to officially announce a successor; owner Kering simply states, “The new Artistic Direction will be announced in due time.”

What’s certain is that Gucci will go on to showcase both its men’s and women’s Autumn/Winter 2025 collections during Milan Fashion Week on 25 February. However, they will be presented by its design office.

This article was first seen on Esquire Singapore.

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With founder Melvyn Goh at the helm, Succession Advisory Partners provides consultation services to highly affluent families and their kin on intergenerational and succession matters. As Asia experiences a dramatic shift in wealth dynamics, Melvyn Goh is spearheading efforts to support family enterprises in navigating succession planning and wealth transfer. Through his various ventures, including Succession and the Nanyang Succession Centre of Excellence, Goh is shaping the future of generational wealth with innovative solutions that cater to both financial growth and family harmony, while at Family Fortune Times, Goh provides insights tailored to principals of single-family offices across Asia.

What led you to establish Succession in Singapore?

My work has taken me to global cities like Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Shanghai, immersing me in the worlds of luxury, high-net-worth individuals, and family enterprises. A significant part of my career was with Forbes China, where I focused on entrepreneurship, particularly family entrepreneurship. This gave me a front-row seat to observe the exponential growth of business enterprises.

When I arrived in Shanghai in 2005, there were only ten billionaires on the Forbes China list. By 2015, that number had grown to over a thousand. This extraordinary growth of wealth creation was remarkable, but what intrigued me most was the next phase — wealth transfer. We’re in the century of the greatest wealth transition, with McKinsey estimating nearly USD 7 trillion being transferred globally.

Succession represents the culmination of my career transformations — from media to advertising, then non-profit, and now the wealth and financial space. It combines my passion for supporting business families, addressing their needs in succession planning, and helping the next generation build sustainable legacies.

What specific services do you offer, and can you customise them to meet a family’s unique needs and goals?

That’s a great question. I am going to take advantage of free advertising here. Our core service is next-generation education, designed to address the challenges of generational wealth transfer. While USD 5.8 trillion is expected to transfer in Asia by 2030, only 30 percent of wealth transitions successfully to the second generation, 13 percent to the third, and as low as 3 percent beyond that. This underscores the importance of equipping next-gens with the skills to lead, innovate, and transform their family enterprises while maintaining intergenerational harmony.

To meet these needs, we offer a structured diploma program through the Nanyang Succession Centre of Excellence, co-created with Nanyang Institute of Management. The curriculum focuses on leadership, innovation, business transformation, intergenerational communication, and governance, enabling the next generation to balance tradition with forward-looking strategies.

Beyond education, we provide tailored advisory services to help families implement governance structures, create family constitutions, and address unique challenges. Our approach integrates thought leadership through our journal — similar to Harvard Business Review — and practical expertise from a faculty of academics and practitioners who consult directly with families.

This university-style ecosystem ensures we deliver comprehensive, customised solutions to help family enterprises build sustainable legacies across generations.

How do you stay current with changing financial laws and regulations?

Indeed. Staying current is critical, especially with ongoing updates to tax incentives and financial policies in key hubs like Singapore, Hong Kong, and Dubai. We work closely with a network of domain experts — consulting firms, trust companies, and regulators — and actively engage at industry events to exchange insights and stay ahead of regulatory changes.

Also, our media arm, Family Fortune Times, plays a key role in keeping our clients and potential clients informed. It is designed to serve the 3,000 family office shareholders and leaders across Singapore, Hong Kong, and the region, ensuring they stay updated on the latest trends and regulations impacting family enterprises.

Why is Singapore such an attractive place to locate a family office?

Actually, you can find plenty of these reasons online too. I will just highlight three here.

Firstly, tax incentives and regulatory support — Singapore offers attractive tax exemptions under schemes like the 13O and 13U, designed to support family offices. The government actively fosters a business-friendly and transparent regulatory environment.

Secondly, political stability and safety — with a stable government, low crime rate, and strong rule of law, Singapore provides a secure and predictable environment for wealth preservation and business operations.

Finally, there is access to talent and networks — Singapore is home to a diverse pool of financial professionals, legal experts, and family office advisors, as well as a robust ecosystem of family office networks and forums. This takes a long time to build and I see this as Singapore’s unique advantage.

What is important in this fast-changing landscape? How do wealth advisers adapt?

Building trust is paramount in the evolving wealth advisory landscape, as the relationship between clients and advisors fundamentally hinges on trust. While technology, AI, and accessible knowledge have made data-driven insights and solutions easier to obtain, they cannot replace the human connection and personalised care that advisors provide. Advisors must focus on fostering strong, long-term relationships by understanding client values and priorities.

Today’s wealth owners are far younger, how does this transition manifest itself in the family office space?

Yes, the rise of younger generation owners is transforming the value of this space, with next-gen leaders prioritising impact investing, sustainability and purpose-driven wealth building. From our roundtable sessions with these next generations, it’s clear they are shifting from purely financial goals to creating legacies that balance profit and social impact.

Do you believe families have a responsibility to do something more with their wealth?

Wealthy families have a responsibility to help others, especially smaller businesses in the same industry. Big fish don’t have to eat small fish; they can coexist and even thrive together. It doesn’t have to be a winner-takes-all situation. By giving back and supporting others, big businesses can make their wealth more meaningful and create a better, fairer environment for everyone. This way, their success leaves a positive legacy, not just profits.

Do you provide services related to philanthropic giving, and can you assist in setting up charitable foundations or trusts?

Yes, we do. Our advisor, Ms. Chen Mei-Na, who was the Deputy Secretary-General for China Green Foundation — one of the most successful charitable organisations in China — has worked with many businesses and families on impactful projects. We help clients set up non-profit foundations as part of our services. Our focus is on four main areas: legacy and succession planning, tax planning, philanthropy and investment management, with a strong emphasis on private equity and alternative investments.

How are Asia’s family offices adapting to the changing balance of geopolitical power?

Geopolitical shifts, like the US-China trade tensions, have really changed the game for family offices in Asia. A lot of them are diversifying their investments, moving into alternative assets like private equity, real estate, and tech — areas that can ride out some of the geopolitical noise. Singapore’s also become a bit of a hub because of its stability and business-friendly setup. There’s definitely a shift towards sustainable investing too, which not only aligns with long-term goals but also helps manage risks better. Well, at the bottom line, nobody can predict what Trump is thinking.

How would you describe an ideal client?

[Laughs] Someone who has ideally SGD 100 million in investable assets, aged 60 with kids between 15 to 30 plus old?

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