Gucci is an Italian fashion brand founded by Guccio Gucci in Florence in 1921. Gucci’s product range includes ready-to-wear clothing, leather goods, shoes, watches, ties, scarves, perfumes, homeware and pet accessories. Gucci’s fashion has long been renowned for its high-end, luxurious and sensual style. With a brand image as a ‘symbol of status and wealth’, it has become a favourite among the wealthy upper classes and is highly regarded by business professionals, combining fashion with elegance. From 1994 to 2003, Tom Ford served as Creative Director at Gucci, pioneering a fresh brand image characterised by youth, modernity, charm and sensuality. He set the pace for the fashion world, becoming a trendsetter and establishing Gucci’s fashion empire. Gucci is now one of Italy’s leading fashion groups.
Guccio Gucci, the founder of Gucci, was born in Florence in 1881 and worked as a porter at the Savoy Hotel in London. In 1921, Guccio Gucci returned to his hometown of Florence and opened a shop specialising in leather goods and horse tack. As the business expanded, a new store was opened on the renowned Via Condotti in Rome. Although there was a shortage of leather due to the war at the time, Gucci demonstrated his creativity by mass-producing fabric bags, which proved hugely popular.
In 1939, Gucci’s four sons joined the business one after another, and Gucci transformed from a sole proprietorship into a family enterprise. In 1953, the first overseas branch opened on 58th Avenue in Manhattan, New York, and Gucci leapt to become an international luxury brand. It is also worth noting that Gucci was the pioneer of product branding today; to ensure quality, Gucci stamped the brand name onto its own products, a pioneering move unprecedented in the history of world fashion.
From 1994 to the present day, Gucci has remained one of the world’s most influential fashion brands. At the same time, it began gradually acquiring leading brands from the global fashion industry, with a number of iconic labels, such as France’s Yves Saint Laurent, becoming part of the Gucci Group. In 1997, Gucci acquired the renowned Swiss watchmaker Severin Montres, with whom it had collaborated for 23 years, thereby gaining full control of its watchmaking operations. In 1998, Gucci was named ‘European Company of the Year’ by the European Business Press Federation in recognition of its strategic vision, management and financial operations. In 1999, Gucci formed a strategic alliance with the retailer Printemps, transforming itself from a single-brand entity into a multi-brand fashion empire and establishing itself as one of Italy’s largest fashion groups. Today, Gucci has branches across the globe, offering a wide range of products including clothing, leather goods, accessories and perfumes, and is highly sought after by fashion enthusiasts worldwide. In April 2006, the departure of Tom Ford, who had made an immense contribution to Gucci, upon the expiry of his contract became a major event in the international fashion world.
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