Women, young people, Asia: this is why luxury fashion is clinging to F1 to relaunch itself

The Gucci Racing Alpine Formula One Team arrives Last May 27, the agreement between Alpine F1 and Gucci became official, with the luxury fashion brand that will give its name to the team (which will transform into Gucci Racing Alpine Formula One Team), which will affix its black and gold logo with the G on the single-seaters produced in Enstone. And it will develop a “narrative ecosystem” using the language of high-performance sport.
According to The Race it is a three-year agreement worth 50 million dollars per year.
The directors of the operation were the CEO of Kering – owner of Gucci – Luca de Meo and the Alpine executive consultant Flavio Briatore. Why does Gucci choose F1? The first answer, the simplest and most immediate, concerns the overlap of the relevant public. 60% of those who buy Gucci are Millennials (under 35) and 60% of the brand’s customers are female. So what better match than F1? Gucci does not hide that market research has naturally directed it to the Circus: the average age of fans is 32 years and 50% of new fans are women.
Formula 1 is no longer just a track, but is becoming a lifestyle and it is no coincidence that Stefano Domenicali had underlined the need to open up views: “Other people may love F1 for other reasons, beyond the cars. We are much more than just a race on the track or the best drivers in the world”.
But Gucci is also tempting for Alpine: Francois Prevost – CEO of the Renault Group – has made no secret that the female public influences 70% of car purchases and is the buyer of 30-35% of new cars. Fashion brands and F1 There is not only Kering with Gucci, but also LVMH – which last year ended a ten-year partnership with F1 worth 150 million dollars per season. The Louis Vuitton logo is now familiar to those who follow Formula 1 and the next race in Monte Carlo is called the “Louis Vuitton Grand Prix of Monaco”.
Luxury brands are looking at Formula 1 with growing interest and racing culture has now become one of the favorite languages ​​of fashion. Classic advertising does not reach the consumer as in the past and therefore it is necessary to change communication: F1 offers global visibility, exclusivity and access to celebrities. But luxury fashion brands are in decline… But all that glitters is not gold. An interesting podcast from Newsweek explains how Gucci is going through a period that is anything but happy: in the first quarter of 2026 sales fell by 14%, in 2025 turnover was down by 22%. The Kering group (of which Gucci is the spearhead with 60% of profits) went from a profit of 1 billion euros in 2024 to a net loss of 29 million in 2025 and had to close over 200 stores around the world.
We need a relaunch and F1 is the ideal platform for growing brands (just think of the various artificial intelligence brands that sponsor drivers and teams), but also for luxury brands that are in difficulty. And LVMH isn’t doing very well either: the largest luxury group in the world recorded -5% of turnover in 2025.
In short, the entire sector finds itself in a complicated picture. In particular, there is a post-Covid economic crisis in the luxury sector, with weak demand. Particularly in China. It is no coincidence that Kering indicated it during the presentation of the financial results as one of Gucci’s weak points: “We have little cultural relevance there”. The key role of Asia And also from this perspective, Formula 1 is perfect for LVMH and Gucci to try to open their way into the Asian market. According to data from Nielsen Sports, the Chinese fan base has grown dramatically, with a +40% between 2024 and 2025. Half of the Chinese fan base discovered Formula 1 mainly thanks to viral content on Bilibili, RedNote and TikTok and made it a mass interest. The Sixth Tone website explained how collaborations between Chinese brands and F1 are soaring, with co-branding operations, which are becoming popular on local e-commerce platforms. And something unimaginable until a few years ago is happening: Chinese shopping centers have started to dedicate increasingly larger spaces to motorsport-themed displays of brands such as Puma and Adidas.
This is why fashion brands need a platform that can relaunch them in the Asian continent.
As far as Asia is concerned, there is also another issue to address: the large turnout of the public at each GP. Quickly explained: in Japan in Suzuka with the minimum salary (around 1180 dollars) you can get 10 cheap tickets (from around 120 dollars). Why does Gucci choose Alpine F1? Let’s go back to Alpine and Gucci. The link between the two realities is undoubtedly Luca de Meo. Milanese, 58 years old, he was CEO of the Renault group from July 2020 to June 2025, before moving to Kering from September 2025 with the same role and the mandate to financially restructure the group.
It was de Meo who called his friend Flavio Briatore back to F1 in June 2024, with the role of executive advisor to Alpine, giving him the keys to a team in a deep crisis of results.
Once at Kering it was natural for de Meo to look to Formula 1 and Alpine as the ideal partner for a collaboration. The relationships between de Meo and Briatore In the June 1 edition, Il Fatto Quotidiano however raised a question on the Gucci-Alpine agreement which placed a magnifying glass on the links between Briatore and de Meo.
In fact, in 2025 Flavio Briatore hired Giulio de Meo, Luca’s son, into his Monegasque holding Majestas. And subsequently Gucci carried out two highly visible operations “with subjects attributable to the same perimeter”. In addition to the deal with Alpine F1, there is also the Gucci branding of the “La Rose des Ventas” beach club in Monte Carlo, owned by Briatore.
Il Fatto Quotidiano contacted Kering, who explained that Giulio de Meo collaborated with Majestas through an internship before his father’s arrival in the group, and Flavio Briatore, who did not want to comment. Click here to add Formula Passion as your favorite source on Google Discover: you will find our content more easily!

Automobile Magazine – F1 English News , 2026-06-02 20:30:00