The stories and dramas of the Guccis

Story

Gucci is one of the fashion houses that has made a 360-degree turn in recent years. The long-forgotten fashion house has made a golden choice with the new head designer Alessandro Michele . He brings a new spirit and revolutionizes the brand.

Gucci's history is marked by numerous family dramas and even a murder. The brand was founded in 1921 by master saddler Guccio Gucci . Initially, Gucci was a small workshop for leather goods and luggage in Florence . Due to increasing demand, Guccio opened additional branches in Italy. In 1947, he brought the first Gucci classic onto the market: the Bamboo Bag . With the handle made of bamboo, he created a bag with recognition value.

Guccio Gucci died in 1953. He had six children , four sons and two daughters. After his death, his sons took over the company. In the same year, his eldest son Aldo Gucci opened the first store in New York. Later, stores were opened in Chicago, Palm Springs and Beverly Hills. The society of the time loved the Gucci classics. These included Grace Kelly and Queen Elizabeth .

In the mid- 1960s, Gucci designed another trademark. The well-known stirrup was combined with the "G". The pattern can still be found in Gucci's classics today. In 1970, they brought the first clothing collection onto the market. In 1974, the first perfume, Gucci No.1, followed.

Aldo Gucci attracted a lot of attention because of his private life. He led a double life . He lived in Italy with his wife and their three sons. He also had an affair with his assistant Bruna Palombo, who was pregnant with his child. His illegitimate daughter Patricia was kept a secret for her first year. When she was 10, shortly before moving from London to Rome, Patricia Gucci learned from her mother that she was an illegitimate child. She later moved with her mother to Palm Beach, where Aldo bought them a house. When she was in her early 20s, Patricia was brought onto the board of the company by her father Aldo and became part of the Gucci family. In 1983 he was charged with tax evasion and sentenced in 1986 at the age of 81. At that time he was excluded from the family business. He died of cancer in 1990. Shortly before his death he disinherited his sons.

(Picture 1: Aldo Gucci together with Bruna Palombo and their daughter Patricia Gucci)

Due to internal ownership disputes , the company declined in the 1980s . Maurizio Gucci sold 50 percent of the company to a US-Arab investment company. He sold the remaining 50 percent in 1993. In 1995, Maurizio was killed in an assassination attempt. His ex-wife Patrizia Reggiani-Gucci was blamed for the attack. She had him killed in revenge and was sentenced to 26 years in prison.

Since 2004, Gucci has been almost entirely owned by the luxury goods group Kering . The Gucci Museum was opened in Florence to mark the company's 90th anniversary. In 2018, it was renamed " Gucci Garden ".

design

In the 1990s, Gucci experienced its first major boom under head designer Tom Ford . He enchanted the fashion world with his collections from 1994 to 2003 and shaped an entire decade. His successor Frida Giannini was head designer for 10 years. Her collections were based on the original designs of Guccio Gucci and the Gucci classics.

Alessandro Michele

Alessandro Michele has been Gucci's chief designer since 2014. He brought back the magic that was originally behind Gucci. Michele was supposed to give a contemporary perspective on Gucci and set a future-oriented direction. And that's exactly what he did. Alessandro Michele brought about a change. Gucci was back out of nowhere. Thanks to Alessandro Michele and his electric, romantic, style-defining design aesthetic, thousands of women want to wear Gucci. Thanks to him, Gucci was the "most coveted" fashion brand in the world in 2016. Alessandro Michele gave the brand a new image.

Alessandro Michele's designs reached a younger target group. He combined classic design elements , such as the bridle or the bamboo handbag handle, with a touch of glamour and sex appeal. The collections are inspired by equestrian sports , as they were in the past. Alessandro Michele works with the trademarks and reinterprets them. He enchants the fashion world with his pompous retro style.

Another design feature is that Gucci includes animals of the Chinese zodiac , which are part of the Chinese calendar, in its collections.

Gucci Classics

In recent years, Gucci has brought many classics onto the market, each of which has a long history. The most famous Gucci classic among the bags is the Bamboo Bag. It has adorned women all over the world for more than half a century. It was first launched in 1947. The bamboo handle was due to the scarcity of resources in the post-war period. Guccio Gucci was looking for an inexpensive material. The bag became a bestseller and international stars such as Ingrid Bergmann and Vanessa Redgrave wore it. This led to the bag's fame in the 1950s and 1960s. Today, Alessandro Michele has brought the bag into the 21st century with his designs.

The Gucci classics are being put back in the spotlight and reinterpreted. One of the Gucci classics is the Sylvie . The unmistakable shape of the Sylvie originally comes from the 1960s and 1970s. It is returning in a more modern version.

Shortly after Alessandro Michele became creative director, the Gucci Dionysus came onto the market. Another Gucci classic . The bag with the unmistakable clasp made from the head of a tiger is an allusion to the Greek god Dionysus.

Vintage and used Gucci bags

Gucci is one of the most successful luxury brands today. The bags are enjoying ever-increasing popularity. This is especially true for the models created by Alessandro Michele . He reinterpreted Gucci's classics.

You can often find the Gucci classics as vintage or used bags . In our online shop or in the boutique we always have a selection of used Gucci classics . The used bags have a special charm .

Image sources:

Image 1: Aldo Gucci with family, Welt, Source: https://www.welt.de/icon/partnerschaft/article159516807/Die-dunkle-Familiengeschichte-hinter-dem-Luxus-Konzern.html

Picture 2: Gucci keychain, luck and shine

Picture 3: Gucci backpack, happiness and shine