[Gwanghwamunduk's Brand Story] #1. Gucci

Gucci was started in 1921 by Guccio Gucci as a small leather goods and travel bag shop in Florence, Italy. Guccio Gucci was an Italian fashion designer and founder of Gucci -- born in 1881 in Florence, Italy, he grew up in a family environment operating a leather goods shop and from an early age had interest in leather and bags. In 1897, Guccio working at the exclusive London Savoy Hotel drew inspiration from the fine luggage of upper-class guests and in 1902 returned to his hometown Florence to learn leather craft. Subsequently in 1921 he opened the first Gucci store in Florence selling leather goods and small bags under his own name. In the 1930s the product line was further expanded and diversified, and due to demand from Gucci main clientele of nobility for equestrian equipment, the distinctive Horsebit icon was developed. In 1938 a store was opened on Via Condotti in Rome, the Italian shopping center. The bamboo bag origin: during World War II, due to trade sanctions and material shortages, leather supply became extremely difficult; Gucci innovated by using bamboo as handle material for handbags -- the bamboo was heat-treated to create the distinctive curved shape; the Bamboo Bag (1947) became a Gucci signature and is still produced today. The Double G logo and The Web: the interlocking GG monogram became a brand symbol in the 1960s; "The Web" (red-green-red stripe derived from horse girth straps) was developed in 1951 and appears as a trim detail on many Gucci products -- both serve as immediate brand recognition marks. Tom Ford era revival: in the early 1990s Gucci was near bankruptcy after family conflicts and management failures; Domenico De Sole became CEO and Tom Ford became creative director in 1994; their collaboration transformed Gucci from a struggling heritage brand into a global luxury powerhouse through bold, sexually provocative designs that defined 1990s luxury fashion; the transformation is considered one of the most successful brand revivals in fashion history. Post-Tom Ford: after Ford departure in 2004, Frida Giannini led the brand through conservative growth; Alessandro Michele (creative director 2015-2022) transformed Gucci again with maximalist, gender-fluid, romantically eccentric aesthetics that captured millennial and Gen Z consumers and drove revenue to record levels; Sabato De Sarno became creative director in 2023, shifting toward a more restrained "Ancora" (anchor) aesthetic. 2021 total revenue approximately 9.73 billion EUR (approximately 13.06 trillion KRW) -- the No. 1 brand by revenue within Kering Group (which also owns Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga, and Alexander McQueen).