Gucci

Gucci is a luxury Italian fashion and leather goods brand that has had international recognition and success. Gucci began primarily as a leather luggage and equestrian accessory company and has grown to be a popular luxury brand. They now design and sell clothing, accessories, jewelry, shoes, home decor, fragrances, and more. Gucci currently has around 483 stores in operation around the world, and the brand is also featured and sold by other fashion retailers. Gucci is part of the Kering Group, and is their flagship brand. Alessandro Michelle is currently the creative director and Marco Bizzarri is the CEO of the Gucci company.

Founded by Guccio Gucci in 1921, Gucci began as a small leather company in Florence, Italy. The company focused primarily on saddles and other horse riding accessories; thus, the brand incorporates some of its equestrian flair within its modern designs. The brand gained popularity quickly among aristocrats throughout the 1930s and 1940s as it expanded to Rome and Milan. During this time, the brand started creating various accessories and expanding its use of materials beyond just leather. Due to a leather shortage, new textiles were invented, such as the first signature Gucci print from the 1930's (small interconnected diamonds in dark brown, woven into a tan hemp fabric) and the iconic Bamboo Bag in 1947.

The Gucci bamboo bag, 1947

Gucci opened its first New York Boutique in 1953, the same year that its founder, Guccio Gucci, passed away. Gucci met great success in the US. It was around this time that their current logo was introduced, along with their signature Flora print. In 1981, Gucci debuted its first ready-to-wear collectible. At that point, Artizio Gucci (grandson of Guccio) had taken over the company and was close to bankruptcy.

Jacquelin Onassis with original 1970 Gucci saddle bag (New York Times Style Magazine)

From 1989-1994, Dawn Mello took over as creative director at Gucci, and the company began to see success again. Tom Ford took over in 1994, leading Gucci in a new direction with a great emphasis on "sex appeal," and Gucci became a $10 billion fashion superstar.

Gucci continued to cycle through various creative directors after its ten years with Ford, including Alessandra Facchinetti and Frida Giannini. Gucci's current creative director, Alessandro Michele, was appointed the position in 2015 and has had both popularity and success.