Happy 90th Birthday, Gucci!
It’s Gucci‘s 90th birthday, everybody. The brand was born in Florence in 1921 when Guccio Gucci opened a leather goods convern. After working in the Savoy Hotel in London, he wanted to bring a sense of British nobility to Italy (and Tuscan craftsmanship to the rest of the world).
The company grew, joining the rarified ranks of Hermès and Louis Vuitton as a true luxury brand. In the ’80s internal family strife and scandal nearly tore the company apart. Tom Ford was brought in as designer of the ready-to-wear division, a move that turned Gucci’s fortunes around dramatically.
Gucci 1100 bangle watch
Needless to say, I don’t have a lot of Gucci to celebrate with. I have a knock-off of the iconic Double G logo snakeskin bangle (pictured at the top of the page). I had a 1100 bangle watch that I sadly lost in Parkdale. And I have an ’80s-era 1200L watch. I have replaced the band with a green snakeskin strap because it felt more Gucci.
If you want to learn more about the history of Gucci, WWD has a free Milestones App, available at the iTunes store.