For the brand's Fall Winter 23 show in Milan on Friday, the Gucci studio took the Chartreuse floor of the Gucci hub instead of Alessandro Michele or Sabato De Sarno. It wasn't an unexpected move, considering Michele left the House effective immediately after he announced he was stepping down late last year, and De Sarno has to finish up his work at Valentino before debuting his designs for the House at the Spring Summer 24 shows in September. This left a gap, across menswear and womenswear for the Gucci studio to fly solo for a season, and what did it show? That Gucci is made up of more than whoever is the captain of the ship, and that the designers – some of whom have been there since Tom Ford's era – are more than capable of paving the runway in anticipation of the next at the helm.

Long before Michele left, there were whispers of the brand wanting to pull things back to Tom Ford's infamous 90s minimalism, so much of the show's anticipation was centred around how this might intercept with Michele's legacy in a cohesive way. But as the staged elevator doors opened for the first exit of the Fall Winter 23 show, it felt far more effortless than we'd imagined. The opening look was a floor-length black satin skirt and a metallic GG bralet, all very directly 90s, though as models continued to move in and out of the steely doors, it became clear that the House would riff on both Ford and Michele's jarringly different, but equally seismic eras.

There was a lot to get through. Slimline grey wool coats, slinky slip skirts, monogrammed lingerie and low waisted velvet trousers all harked back to the 90s, while fluffy moon boots, silver jackets, gigantic Ostrich feather hats and heart shaped faux fur collars on coats referenced Michele's overt oeuvre. Crisp suiting was intercepted with see-through sequin tops and dresses and neon tights, while accessories walked the line between the two. One bag made a repeat appearance, slung over shoulders and tucked under arms like a clutch. It was a baguette shape with and oversized horsebit across the body, allowing the wearer to slide their hand through it and carry it like a purse as an option, and was rendered in everything from patent leather to yellow shearling. There were stringy horsebit belts and chunky patent ones with the old interlocking GG logo instead of Michele's rounded off version.

Even the cast balanced both designers favourites. Current fixtures like Julia Nobis and Kiki Willems were ever-present, but this season they walked alongside Ford favourites like Amy Wesson, who wore baggy jeans, a striped cotton short and a trench; Liisa Winkler, who was styled strikingly in a grey wool bodysuit and a charcoal overcoat; and Guinevere Van Seenus, dressed in a see-through sparkly tank and skirt over red knickers and tights, to close the show.

Once the finale closed out, the elevator doors opened to dozens of members of the Gucci design team to take the final bow, which felt like a joyful reminder that a House is so much more than its creative director. It's the pattern makers, the production managers, the designers, the couturiers, and everyone in between. While it's whoever is at the helms job to pull it all together, the Gucci studio team have shown that with a collection of employees who have witnessed and weathered storms and renaissances, they know how to make great clothes regardless of who is calling the shots.

Watch the livestream video of Gucci Fall Winter 23 below.