Highly innovative, modish, and sophisticated are just a few of the words which describe the maximalist luxury fashion house, Gucci. Ranking as the 4th best fashion brand in the world in 2020, its fashion influence has subsumed the world and come to dominate the wardrobes and wishlists of ‘Gucci Gang’ members the world over.
Masterfully creating an endless array of eclectic, modern, and romantic products the world ‘just has to have’, the Gucci world meets every whim and desire of today’s luxury shoppers. Women, men and children find whimsy, comfort, classism, and elegance in Gucci products, which span ready-to-wear clothing, footwear, accessories and handbags, small leather goods, beauty products, fine jewellery, homewares and more.
With seemingly no end in the sight to the juggernaut that is the Gucci brand today, we take a look back at the origins of the fashion house and follow some of it’s most exciting developments.
Gucci Gang: everything you wanted to know
How did Gucci brand start?
Despite many brand reincarnations over the years, the house has been clever to maintain the quality and originality embedded from the founder, Gucci Guccio, an Italian entrepreneur and fashion designer. The Guccio family line had a history of leather-making in the central manufacturing region of Italy, and the company remains highly esteemed for its craftsmanship to this day.
This interest in fine leather craftsmanship springs from Gucci Guccio’s time working at the Savoy Hotel. Here he developed an interest in the guest luggage, and the inspiration pushed him to start a travel bag and accessories company. In 1921 the Gucci fashion brand was established in a small family leather shop.
Starting small, the Guccio’s later opened a store in Rome and Milan. As the family business grew, his sons Aldo Rodolfo and Vasco ventured the brand internationally into New York.
As time went on, the brand diversified from selling luggage and developed several new skills and specialities. The brand’s introduction of their Gucci loafers in 1953 was a phenomenal success. These now iconic shoes went on to gain massive popularity, and they have been among the best Gucci products ever since.
Gucci Gang Essential: The Gucci Logo
Those iconic ‘double G’s’ are the brand’s pride and its trademark in the luxury market. With just about every Gucci product printed with the logo, recognition of the famous brand is coveted, yet easy to spot. Designed by Aldo Gucci the son of Gucci Guccio, in 1933, Gucci’s logo was clearly designed to represent the brand’s founder names.
Today, the Gucci logo and the products it is labelled on trend widely in popular culture, in particular within the music industry. Pop artists such as Cardi B, Kanye West, and artist Lil Pump – who is famous for coining the term ‘Gucci Gang’ are high profile supporters of the brand and its iconic logo.
Who is the designer of Gucci – past and present?
Gucci Guccio held the brand’s vision, which has been passed down to all of the lead fashion designers since then. In 1990, the American designer Tom Ford joined the Gucci brand and his appointment brought a slew of controversies. Italian purists were not only adverse to a designer of American heritage helming a storied Italian fashion house, his overtly sexy collections drew the ire of those who took comfort in the conservative and ‘horsey’ vibe of the Gucci he took over from.
However, despite the uproar, Ford quickly proved his worth by establishing a new aesthetic and a new mood for Gucci which propelled it into huge popularity. Tom Ford’s most notable production was the collection of AW’96 featuring the now infamous side-cut dress. The aim was to encapsulate the Gucci brand’s chic, sophisticated designs in a new fashion market.
Following Ford’s departure from the house, the next major appointment as the head designer of Gucci was that of Frida Giannini. Distinctly moving away from Ford’s ‘sex sells’ aesthetic, Giannini is known for her revival of the house’s traditional design codes such as the flora prints and red and green stripe motif.
In 2015, creative directorship of Gucci was handed to the then little-known company handbag designer, Alessandro Michele. From here, the Gucci luxury offering changed dramatically. His fashion world included offbeat aristocrats, woodland creatures, geeks and freaks, and with this, the origins of the ‘Gucci Gang’ was born.
Michele graced the Gucci collections with heavy vintage influence that encompassed romantic florals, psychedelic embroideries, cartoon motifs, and thousands of other imaginative features.
Gucci Jewellery
An iconic luxury fashion house praised for its exclusive designs and excellent craftsmanship, it wasn’t long until the brand’s ethos extended beyond leather goods and apparel into the jewellery arena.
Today, men and women can enjoy the Gucci aesthetic across a range of high-end jewellery pieces. Gucci jewellery combines traditional Italian culture and modern fashion styles, and these pieces are everything you can imagine from Gucci: stylish, elegant, unique, and colourful. Available across a range of price-points and styles, the Gucci jewellery collection define Gucci and speak of quality in each product.
Gucci Beauty
Believing that beauty and fashion go hand in hand, it was a natural extension for Gucci to step into the world of beauty in 2014. Derived from Gucci heritage but comprised of cutting edge technologies and trends, the Gucci beauty world includes skincare, makeup, nail polish, lipsticks and glamorous brushes.
Proving that there is no luxury segment the brand can’t conquer, Gucci’s beauty collection has been immensely popular with those that want to live the Gucci life from top to toe.
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