For GCDS' 10th Anniversary, Giuliano Calza Was In His Bag
The creative director tells us about the inspiration behind the “What’s In My Bag” collection, his proudest moments and how he continues to subvert Italian luxury by “doing the absolute most.”
It’s 11:00 a.m. on the day before GCDS‘ 10th anniversary show at Milan Fashion Week. I walk into the brand’s studio to see a room in motion. To my right, the stylist finalizes looks while models wait in a hopeful lineup to be cast. To my left, a busy production team prepares to send out invitations as empty espresso cups lie discarded on the table. In the middle of it all, with an ear-to-ear smile, is Giuliano Calza.
The first thing to know about the creative director is that he is a high-definition burst of energy, a characteristic self evident in the clothing he creates. In an industry currently obsessed with the beige purgatory of minimalism and stripping things all the way back, Calza is piling it on. “I’m doing a barbecue of ideas,” he tells me about his Spring/Summer 2026 collection. “Fun, prints, pythons, boots, collaborations… the absolute most.”
As the creative engine behind GCDS, Calza has spent the last decade proving that you can build a million-dollar empire on a foundation of pink vinyl, Hello Kitty and unadulterated aura maxxing. But to dismiss GCDS as mere “kitsch” is to miss the point entirely. Underneath the Betty Boop leather jackets and fanged footwear (or as the brand calls it the Morso heel) lies a designer who is as dedicated to the codes as any heritage house.
These codes materialized this season in a collection dubbed “What’s In My Bag” set in a handcrafted mall where models emerged from a massive GCDS shopping bag. Calza referenced the brand’s past decade with old graphic prints, new collaborations with the likes of Valentino Rossi and a handbag that is… a literal *hand* bag.
Despite his references to the brand’s past, a simple mention of the word “archive” will make Calza recoil. To him, an archive suggests a museum, a place where ideas go to be taxidermied. Calza, however, is still very much in the wild. “I was terrified when they asked me to do a celebration parade of the ‘best of,’” he admits with a laugh. “I said, ‘F-cking hell no.’ I don’t want to do that. I just want to keep creating.”
But regardless of the vernacular used to describe it, the archive was reborn in the best way possible. And in a new strategic pivot, the brand has recently transitioned to a “See Now / Buy Now” model, meaning you can already purchase the collection in its entirety, because in Calza’s world… why wait?
This restless drive for urgency is perhaps a byproduct of a career born from a sudden, jarring stop. The GCDS origin story is actually one of accidental reinvention. In 2016, Calza was returning from a three-year stint in China that ended with him being essentially “kicked out” due to visa issues. At the time, it felt like a catastrophe; looking back, it was the necessary spark.
“I felt like my world was crumbling,” he says. “But instead, it was a good new start. I was building the house for my idea, but I had no expectations. Then it became larger than life.”
It is this sense of hard-won perspective that informs his definition of success, which has less to do with business and everything to do with the people he’s brought together. When I asked Calza about his proudest moments, he didn’t point to the million-dollar revenue or the viral runway moments. Instead, he tells a story about a girl working upstairs in his studio who earlier that morning confessed that she used to sneak into his parties as a university student.
“She said it was the best party in Milan, and now she’s working here,” Calza says, his face lighting up. “That’s what fashion is for me. Because growing up, I was that kid. I was sneaking into the Versace shows or the Dolce & Gabbana after-parties. I am that kid.”
As we finish our conversation, I consider how full-circle that must feel, that this same kid who found his way into the parties he wasn’t invited to, now holds the keys and ensures that his world of play remains open to anyone brave enough to sneak through the door.
