Pop Culture's Favorite Designer Giuliano Calza on Growing Up With GCDS
“Just imagine when you’re dead someone is going to find your closet? Just make them excited about it.” — Giuliano Calza
Giuliano Calza, creative director of GCDS, is many things — the antithesis of demure, the epitome of playfulness and the designer of the dopamine-infused dressing that we’ve all loved since 2015. Known for his cheeky takes on beloved characters like SpongeBob SquarePants and Hello Kitty, the Milan-based designer is ready for a new challenge.
For his Spring/Summer 2025 collection at Milan Fashion Week, Calza was inspired by a flower growing in his garden and the strength and beauty he saw in it that mirrors his community of loyal fans. The collection was robust with color yet paired back from his previous seasons — instead, letting the show’s concept speak for itself. Key standouts from the collection include bags filled with butterflies, furry green Morso sneakers and the brand’s deepest V cut yet. It wouldn’t be a GCDS show without a splash of pop culture. Models walked to the tune of CharliXCX ‘s “Everything is Romantic” as an homage to Calza’s hometown of Capri while various Brat hues took centerstage for the first looks of the show.
Check out some of our favorite looks from the collection above and continue reading for our full conversation with Calza.
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Last season was all about “Toys for Adults.” Where are you at this season?
I’m growing up. I moved into a new house and I tried to plant lots of seeds in my garden but nothing came out. Then, one day, I was having breakfast and I saw this little, pink, gorgeous flower blossoming. I thought, “Oh my gosh, this is such a sign from God.” So, I decided to create a collection inspired by the flower. That might be very cringy, but I’m really into the resilient energy that women have and the flower reminded me of that. The women that inspire me are mostly from pop culture. I’ve heard so many stories of rejection and this is exactly what happened to my little flower. Like, out of all the places, it bloomed from out of the concrete. This is exactly what my girls and men stand for – they are like flowers from the concrete.
I think our generation has gone through so much rejection for our sexuality, for our habits and we’re really misunderstood for the way we live. The gay community has always supported me. All of the fierce pop girlies have always been there for me. I don’t want to be the guy that comes and saves the world but I think that this collection is for all of the people that love GCDS and all of the people that stand for this message.
This collection feels more simple in design than your previous collection, how did that come to be?
As a designer, it’s very hard to show your true colors, because you always feel judgment. You always feel like you have to do more, you have to be this, this has to be your collection yet. Instead, I was very determined to just go with looks that I was obsessed with. It’s simple in a way and I’m really happy with that.
You talk about the rebirth of the flower as well as your audience, do you feel like you’re going through a rebirth of your own?
It was a very tough year for fashion. Companies have shrunk and budgets have been reduced. You have to do less. You have to do more, and you’re in a constant cycle between the two. Luckily, I can still do my job and do it really well. I have an amazing opportunity to showcase my work which very few people have. Going into this collection, I was not feeling stressed. I was just feeling like, “This is such a great opportunity to do my job.” Like, who gets the opportunity to create every day and say, “Oh, I’m doing this, and I’m doing it in the best way possible with the best team?” I feel that this is going to be my best collection because I’m putting the best feelings in it.
Is there anything in terms of the design process that you’ve experimented with for the first time?
There actually is. Usually you create a collection on paper, you design it, then you see it after production. This year, for the first time, I had lots of seamstresses in the office, and we started doing fittings – cutting pieces of fabric and putting them together. It was magical. When you experiment with fabrics and textures and layering, everything changes when you think of structure.
You know when they give you colors when you’re a kid, and they just tell you do whatever you want? That’s exactly how I feel about this collection. There’s a lot of things, even in this last week, that have changed even after the fittings. I was like, “Oh, this is very good. Let’s do another one. Let’s do another color. I think this would be cool layered.”
You just moved offices and you moved into a new home. Have these environments sparked your creativity in a new way?
How do you know everything? Yes! In my new house, I have a spare room that has become my space for creativity. I put a table in it with lots of magazines, fabrics and postcards, and I started drawing again. This may sound very weird but usually you design on a computer. You do lots of graphics, you do lots of alterations on the models or on the fabric, but you never go back to the design process by hand. This season I was like, “Okay, let’s put it on paper again.”
