This is the first part of a series of articles on the story of a world-famous luxury brand: GUCCI
For the first article, I want to talk about how the story of one of the legends of Italian fashion came to life.
Founded by Guccio Gucci in Florence in 1921. He opened his first store, called Azienda Individuale Guccio Gucci, a small store where he sells imported leather luggage, travel goods, and saddlery for horseback riding, made by local artisans.
He expands by building a larger factory to accommodate the 60 artisans in his service. The house's leather accessories will always refer to the equestrian sphere: the saddle and stirrup first, a green-red-green ribbon inspired by the saddle girth.
It was in 1925 that Gucci became famous thanks to a particular model of saddlebag that was a huge success.
After the fascist rise in the 1930s, forced to grapple with the scarcity of materials, Guccio Gucci experimented with jute, hemp, and linen, creating designs that became iconic.
In the same years Guccio launched his first handbags, becoming well known and appreciated. His sons and wife are involved in the family business, and thanks to growing recognition, the company opens its first store in Rome, on Via dei Condotti, in 1938; and later another boutique in Milan.
After the war the company is in the hands of Guccio and his three sons (Aldo , Rodolfo and Vasco). The Gucci brand is experiencing a particularly successful period.
In 1947 the famous bamboo bag is launched on the market, and in '52 the signature moccasini.
Despite Guccio Gucci's death in 1953, the company continued to prosper, and at the end of that year it opened a boutique in New York City, which would be followed by others.
The double G logo was also introduced at that time. In '66 Rodolfo Gucci approached Vittorio Accornero to make Flora, the foulard designed for the Princess of Monaco
Gucci's success in the United States led to its global development, with new store openings in Asia (Tokyo and Hong Kong) and the Middle East, as well as the first franchise store in Brussels. By the late 1960s, Gucci had 10 stores in the United States and Gucci products were worn by all the most high-profile personalities of the time.
Gucci is also the first fashion house to collaborate with brands in other industries, such as Rolls-Royce and American Motors.
Nel 1985 il mocassino Gucci entra a far parte della collezione permanente del Metropolitan Museum of Art di New York.
Upon Rodolfo's death, his son Maurizio began a legal war against his uncle Aldo Gucci to gain total control of the brand. In 1986, at age 81, Aldo Gucci was sentenced to one year in prison in the United States for tax evasion.
In 1988, 47.8% of Gucci was sold to the investment fund Investcorp, which came to own 100% of the shares eventually ousting the Tuscan family, in 1993.In 1995 Maurizio Gucci was murdered, the person behind the assassination was his ex-wife Patrizia Reggiani, who was sentenced to 26 years in prison. We will talk abato that, in a future article.
Here ends the first part of our story. Would you like to find out more about this Italian Fashion Family?
