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Italian actor, screenwriter and director Pietro Castellitto is Gucci’s latest campaign star as the brand continues to highlight its iconic Horsebit loafer.
In its ongoing Horsebit 1953 loafer campaign, the Italian luxury brand is showcasing its signature shoe through the eyes of its creative director Sabato De Sarno.
At the heart of this latest chapter, Gucci describes the campaign as Castellitto captured in a relaxed and creative environment, surrounded by books, music and art. Through a series of portraits shot by photographer Heji Shein, the “Enea” star transitions between a range of looks, from casual to distinguished, each grounded by the Gucci Horsebit 1953 loafer.
De Sarno and Gucci first launched its loafer campaign a year ago with Academy-award nominated actor Paul Mescal and Chinese actor and singer Xiao Zhan fronting the spot.
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Gucci tapped the talents at the time to mark the 70th anniversary of its Horsebit 1953 loafer design. In March, Gucci followed up the debut men’s campaigns with another series of portraits featuring the footwear style worn by British actor Kingsley Ben-Adir.
Tracing back to the ‘50s, the horsebit element is among the key codes of the Florentine house, appearing as decorative motif or functional detail across ready-to-wear, bags, belts, jewelry and silk scarves, among others.
The loafer offered a new idea of elegance at the time: “equal parts sporty, casual and sensual,” Gucci said in a statement. Its double ring and bar, inspired by the equestrian world, has remained a defining motif in Gucci’s collections for over seven decades, evoking the life and style that surrounded equestrianism, a popular pastime among its clientele of the time.
The introduction of Gucci footwear in 1953 coincided with the opening of the brand’s first boutique in New York City and its American expansion. The horsebit first became a signature element in men’s shoe styles, before being translated into a women’s version in the ‘60s. While initially offered with a tapered silhouette and a higher heel, the women’s design was eventually revisited to mirror the men’s shape in the late ‘70s. In 1985, the style became part of the permanent collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art as an example of Italian iconic design.
Over the decades since its launch, the Gucci Horsebit loafer has become a wardrobe staple worn by icons like Francis Ford Coppola, Jodie Foster, Alain Delon, and more as well as Gucci ambassadors and friends of the house such as Dakota Johnson, Paul Mescal, Hanni, Kirsten Dunst and Mark Ronson.
The style has also been reinterpreted by Gucci’s different creative directors offered their own take on the footwear’s classic shape and its equestrian aesthetics, including De Sabato’s most recent interpretation featuring a sculptural pointed toe to it for spring/summer 2025. This new design detail can be seen in next season’s Horsebit loafer and in a Horsebit boot for men.
