"Quality is remembered long after the price is forgotten."
- Guccio Gucci
It all began in Italy...
Guccio Gucci was born in Florence in 1881. From an early age, he observed his father's work as a shoemaker specializing in the production of leather accessories. Unlike many fashion geniuses, Gucci didn't dream of a career in fashion design or the pursuit of artistic passions. His dreams were of something completely different. There is no magical moment of revelation in Gucci's biography that he wanted to change the world of fashion. As a young boy, he knew one thing - he wanted to escape his destiny and at all costs avoid following in his father's footsteps. There's a legend about his choice of life path. It's said that on his way out of his father's workshop, he would always bump into the doorman of the exclusive hotel, Principe di Savoia. The boy admired his work and was told that to work in a hotel like this, he would need to go to London and gain experience in Savoy...
The oriental taste of luxury
In 1898, the 18-year-old Gucci embarked on a journey that would forever change the course of his life. Determined to achieve his goal, he ended up at the Savoy hotel in the capital of Great Britain. The inexperienced Gucci had no chance of working as a doorman, who was, after all, the first person to greet the elite and distinguished guests, and thus the face of the hotel. However, Gucci was offered a job as a dishwasher, hidden in the back of the hotel kitchen. Eventually, he was promoted and got to work in one of the first electric elevators in the luxurious Savoy. Gucci loved his job. Every day, he was surrounded by affluent travelers with their exquisite luggage, suitcases, and bags made of high-quality leather. Working with luxury luggage greatly appealed to young Gucci. After working in London, the young Italian moved to Paris, where he worked as a steward on the luxurious Orient Express on the Paris-St. Petersburg line.
It's never too late to follow your dreams - the first store in Florence
In 1902, Gucci returned to Italy and decided to marry Aida Calvelli, who already had an illegitimate child from a previous relationship. At the turn of the 20th century, Gucci made a serious faux pas, a marriage that his family did not approve of. Soon his sons were born, who would play a crucial role in the development of their father's empire once they became adults. After returning from his travels abroad, Gucci started producing saddles and leather harnesses for horses. However, as automobiles started being mass-produced and widely used, the demand for horse-riding equipment fell. Therefore, in 1921, at the age of 40, Gucci fulfilled his life's dream and opened his first luxury leather accessories store in Florence. Everyone wanted to own a Gucci bag, and a stylish journey across the Atlantic could not be done without a set of exclusive handbags from the Florentine shoemaker marked with the distinctive logo made of two intertwined 'G's, standing for Guccio Gucci.
Family fashion empire
Gucci's sons had no doubts about their career paths - upon reaching adulthood, they joined their father's business. The Gucci empire expanded - also in terms of its product range. In the 1930s, Gucci introduced handmade iconic loafers adorned with a buckle inspired by a horse's bridle. To this day, these loafers, available in a full range of colors, are handmade by cobblers in Florence. The interwar period and the times of World War II were another challenge for Gucci's luxury shoemaking company. As Mussolini introduced restrictions on luxury goods, the company started manufacturing its bags from beige-brown cloth embroidered with the distinctive diamond pattern and the 'GG' logo. The lack of materials during this difficult period led to many innovative ideas, such as making a bag model with a bamboo handle.
Before Gucci's death in 1953, his family managed to open more stores in Rome, Milan, and New York. The legacy of the brilliant Florentine shoemaker was taken over by his numerous family, which was not spared from numerous scandals. Despite the complicated twists and turns of the Gucci family, the company had a resurgence thanks to brilliant fashion designers such as Tom Ford and the eccentric Alessandro Michele. Over time, Gucci also entered the clothing market with collections for men and women.
