ICICLE has appointed Sabato De Sarno as Creative Director, placing the Italian designer in charge of the brand’s women’s and men’s ready-to-wear, accessories and eyewear. De Sarno will present his first collection for ICICLE for Fall Winter 2027.28, marking his return to a major creative leadership role following his departure from Gucci in February 2025.
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Bénédicte Laloux will continue as Design Director of the Women’s Show Collection under De Sarno’s creative direction. Laloux has played a central role in ICICLE’s womenswear and Paris Design Studio since joining the company in 2013. She became artistic director of womenswear in 2019 and will remain closely involved in the development of the women’s collection.
De Sarno arrives at ICICLE after two years leading Gucci, where he served as Creative Director from 2023 until February 2025. The position marked his first major creative-director appointment after a career spent working inside several Italian fashion houses.
Born near Naples in 1983, De Sarno began his career at Prada in 2003 before joining Dolce&Gabbana. He moved to Valentino in 2009 and remained there for more than a decade, eventually becoming fashion director with responsibility for both the men’s and women’s collections.
At ICICLE, De Sarno will work within a company built around what it describes as the “natural way,” an approach centered on natural fibers, original material tones and organic pigments. The designer said the brand’s attention to raw materials and the relationship between people and nature drew him to the role.
“I’ve always been fascinated by design beyond the final product, from the origins of raw materials to the processes that shape them,” De Sarno said. He added that he saw a strong connection between ICICLE’s principles and his own creative philosophy.
Ye Shouzeng, ICICLE’s CEO and co-founder, described De Sarno’s appointment as an important step in the company’s direction. Ye founded ICICLE in Shanghai in 1997 with his wife Shawna Tao. ICICLE made its debut on the official Paris Fashion Week calendar last year as part of its wider international expansion. The brand also began developing its wholesale business and setting out plans for broader global growth.
