Fashion Designer Guccio Gucci

The Italian haute couture establishment called Gucci, was founded by Guccio Gucci in Florence in the year 1921. Gucci, like many other high-fashion companies, began as a small, family-owned saddlery and leather goods store. Gucci opened his first boutique in the familys native Florence in 1921 and quickly built a reputation for quality, hiring the best craftsmen he could find to work in his atelier, making luxury luggage, and pocketbooks, items of the highest quality. In 1932 Guccio Gucci created the loafer shoe with a gilded snaffle. These are the only shoes to have found a place in New York's Museum of Modern Art. In 1938, Gucci opened a boutique in Rome. Guccio was the leading designer for many of the companys most notable products. In 1947, Gucci introduced the bamboo handle handbag, which is still a company mainstay. Guccio and his wife Aida Calvelli had six children, though only his sons, Vasco, Aldo, Ugo, and Rodolfo would play a role in leading the company.

It was during the 1950s when the Gucci classics were created: the handbag with the bamboo handle; the mocassin with the distinctive Gucci snaffle-bit; the foulards: the belt clasps the ties. New shops were opened in London, Palm Beach, Paris, Beverly Hills and Tokyo.

Disputes regarding inheritances, stock holdings, and day-to-day operations of the stores often divided the family and led to alliances. In 1953, Guccio's son Aldo and Rodolfo opened the first overseas Gucci shop in New York, the year that Guccio died. As the Gucci empire expanded overseas, board meetings about the companys future often ended with tempers flaring.

The 1960s proved to be very kind to the House of Gucci, with the Gucci brand considered to be one of the status symbols of the times. The company also developed its famous GG logo (Guccio Guccis initials), during this time. The Flora silk scarf (worn prominently by Hollywood actress Grace Kelly), and the Jakie O shoulder bag, made famous by Jackie Kennedy, the wife of U.S. President John F. Kennedy were all inspiring Gucci pieces. Gucci remained one of the premier luxury goods establishments in the world until the late 1970s, when a series of disastrous business decisions and family quarrels brought the company to the verge of bankruptcyBut, with the success of their stores came clashes among family members. This was documented in tabloids and newspapers all over the world.

By 1989, Maurizio Gucci became President of the Gucci Group. By 1993, Maurizio Gucci stepped down and sold his shares to Investcorp, an Arab multinational. Dawn Mello was Design/Creative Director from 1990-1991 and Tom Ford took over her position in 1994. Under the helm of Tom Ford, the House of Gucci gained public recognition once again. As of date, Alessandra Fachinetti was appointed Creative Director for the womens Gucci line, John Ray for the mens Gucci line, and Alfreda Giannini for the Gucci accessories line.

Gucci designs have been worn on runways and red carpets all over the world. Like a number of other labels on the market (Prada and Roberto Cavalli to name a few), much of Guccis success is a result of celebrity support. Jakie Onassis, Sophia Loren, Rock Hudson, Duchess of Windsor, Sidney Poitier, Andrey Hepburn, Andrew Peacock, Kim Novak, Elizabeth Taylor, Clark Gable, John Wayne, Jack Nicholson, Madonna, Gwenyth Paltrow, Elizabeth Hurley, Charlize Theron, Haley Berry, and J Lo, openly flaunted their high-end Gucci products, making Gucci very popular among the celebrities.

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