GUCCI

 Guccio Gucci was born in 1881, the son of a Florentine craftsman. When still a young boy he moved to Paris and then to London quickly working his way up to the position of Maitre d'Hotel at the Savoy. And there, in one of the world's most cosmopolitan cities, Guccio observed and metabolised culture, ideas, style and aesthetical sophistication. When he went back to Italy in 1920, Guccio opened the first Gucci shop in Florence with a capital of only 30.000 lira. These are the humble beginnings of a trademark that has become a tradition.

Guccio's first success arrived thanks to his leather craftsmanship and his accessories for horseback riders. As a more and more sophisticated clientele patronised the Gucci firm it grew slowly and steadily. The Gucci's - who came to include Guccio's sons Aldo, Ugo, Vasco and Rodolfo, - opened new shops in Florence, Rome and Milan. in 1953, over their father's strenuous objections, Aldo and Rodolfo opened the first overseas Gucci shop in New York, but it was also the year that Guccio died marking the end of an era for the family firm.

The brothers persevered, however, and those were the years in which the products destined to become "classics" were created: the handbag with the bamboo handle; the mocassin with the distinctive Gucci snaffle-bit; the foulards: the belt clasps; the ties. New shops were opened in London, Palm Beach, Paris, Beverly Hills and Tokyo.

The late nineteen sixties marked the explosion of the "Status Symbol" and Gucci, along with fellow Florentine Pucci, was among the first Italian names recognized world-wide. Production increased and the biggest factory yet was opened on the outskirts of Florence. But in the same period clashes within the family resulted in the 1989 nomination of Rodolfo's son Maurizio Gucci to President of the Group.

Gucci decided to concentrate on the revaluation of the original family tradition of beautifully crafted artisan products. On the advice of Dawn Mello, brought in from Bergdorf Goodman, they cut back from 20,000 articles to 5.000 concentrating on the most popular successes: the bag with the bamboo handle, suitcases, shoes, the "Flora" foulard created by Rodolfo Gucci and the artist Accornero for Grace Kelly. They even cut down on the number of distributors: today there are 180 Gucci boutiques in the world.

His cousins had already left the company, and in 1993 Maurizio Gucci stepped down and sold his shares to Investcorp, an Arab multinational. Various financial manuverings ensued, and after publicly-owned comany withstood a takeover effort by LVMH it remained in the hands of Pinault. The contracts of CEO Domenico del Sole and uber-designer Tom Ford were not renewed and they stepped down on April 1, 2004. Aldo Gucci once laughed when this writer told him that one day Gucci would hold fashion shows - today Gucci stands at the top of the fashion name heap.