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| Gucci fashion Photo by Justin Chrn on Unsplash |
Guccio Gucci, the founder of one of the most respected fashion houses in operation today, started out as a humble hotel worker in Paris. There he was exposed to the accouterments of upper-class individuals at the Savoy hotel and became awe-struck by their luxury. Knowing that his home city of Florence had an abundance of skilled craftsmen, he returned there to open a store that sold leather goods inspired by those luxury items he had seen. He also sold saddles and other horseback riding accessories. The operation was such a success that he soon expanded to Milan and Rome with more stores and started working with his sons, Vasco and Rodolfo.
Driven by their success, they established their first overseas operation in 1953 in New York. Sadly, Guccio Gucci passed away only 15 days after the brand reached American shores. However, that didn’t stop American consumers and some of the biggest celebrities of the day from embracing Gucci.
The following decade would be a golden age for the brand that led to an expansion into Japan in the 1970s. However, the Gucci brothers didn’t’ see eye to eye and the Gucci brand was brought to near-bankruptcy before Aritzio, Rodolfo’s son, took over. Aritzio took Gucci in a more profit-oriented direction, bringing on Tom Ford, the designer who took Gucci to new heights, where it has remained ever since.
