Gucci is a well-known Italian luxury brand. Founded by Guccio Gucci, it has since become a staple of the worldwide luxury fashion market.
As a young immigrant – first to London and then to Paris – Guccio Gucci worked in hotels. He had an eye for the luxurious trappings of the hotels’ clientele. He first opened a shop in 1920 that sold fine leather goods, including the signature loafers that Gucci is still known for today. With his sons, Gucci expanded his enterprise to include multiple shops in Milan, Rome, and Florence, and began producing fine silk scarves and high-quality knitwear.
In the early years, Gucci was distinguished by the careful attention workers paid to the finishing details of the piece. While he was an innovator in the way he designed to production process to rapidly create new goods, Gucci never cut corners when it came to finished quality, successfully balancing perfection with efficiency.
Over the course of the 20th century, Gucci easily adapted to changing trends and established itself as a major player in the fashion world. In 1995, Gucci became a public company and had its first offering on the New York Stock Exchange. In addition to luxury clothes, Gucci has also produced collections of items for the home as well as a 1970s collaboration with the now-defunct American Motors Corporation to design the interior seats for its Sportabout station wagons.
Today, a 1,715 square foot museum located in Florence charts Gucci’s history and it place as a fashion icon.
Article written by Dev Randhawa, a US-based fashion blogger. Dev Randhawa blogs about the biggest brands in men’s fashion, and the latest trends that drive how you will look next year.