In this series of blog posts, Circa Vintage takes a deep dive into the history of some of our favourite fashion designers. Today, it's the turn of the Gucci family.
Gucci is a brand synonymous with luxury handbags, ready-to-wear, footwear, and accessories. Founded in 1921 in Florence, Italy by Guccio Gucci, it benefitted from the vision of Guccio's son Aldo such that it has grown into a world-renowned brand and icon of the Italian La Dolce Vita ('the sweet life').
As a young man, Guccio Gucci worked at the Savoy, London as a bellboy which meant he handled the luggage of the hotel's affluent clients. He learned to appreciate fashions, quality, fabrics and the toll of traveling conditions. During the war, an embargo on leather imports meant that Gucci had to introduce other fabrics such as raffia, wicker, wood, linen and jute, at the time rather avant garde.
Gucci accessories (gloves, belts, wallets, keychains) became very desirable and the signature double-G symbol combined with prominent red and green bands set the brand apart from its rivals. Jackie Kennedy toted a Gucci purse and Princess Grace Kelly found she couldn't resist one of the brand's Bamboo bags. As a thank you, Gucci commissioned a scarf for the princess entitled "Flora" which features 43 types of flowers, plants and insects in 37 colours.
From 1994-2004, Gucci was headed up by Tom Ford. His vision for the brand was unapologetically sexy and his catwalks were filled with sensuous, high-glamour clothing that clung to the body. Today, designs from this era are highly collectable. Alessandro Michele followed Tom Ford. His Gucci elevated the house signatures - jewel-tones, shimmering cloths and logo-prints - to a cartoonish level. These incredibly detailed, fastastical designs are sure to be the museum pieces of the future - make sure you hold on to them.