Kering SA appointed Demna Gvasalia, a designer who fueled sales growth at Balenciaga while courting controversy, as the artistic director at Gucci in a bid to revive the struggling label.

Demna, as he is known, has been at Balenciaga, which is also owned by the French luxury-goods company, since 2015. Under his creative leadership, the brand’s popularity soared as it launched sneakers such as the Triple S, which are recognizable by their exaggerated size.