Gucci

Maker

About

Gucci is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in 1921 by Guccio Gucci in Florence, specializing in leather goods, footwear, and ready-to-wear clothing. The company is known for its iconic horsebit loafer introduced in 1953, which became the first shoe inducted into the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Gucci is currently owned by the French luxury group Kering and operates a dedicated innovation center, ArtLab, for footwear and leather goods development in Florence.

The brand began as a small leather goods and luggage shop on Via della Vigna Nuova in Florence, drawing inspiration from the founder's experience working at London's Savoy Hotel. Under the leadership of Aldo Gucci, the company expanded globally throughout the mid-20th century, establishing retail locations across Europe, North America, and Asia.

History and founding

Guccio Gucci founded the company in 1921 in Florence, Italy, after working as a bellboy at London's Savoy Hotel where he observed the luxury luggage carried by wealthy guests. Before opening his own shop, he learned leather craftsmanship working for the luggage brand Franzi. He opened his first retail location on Florence's Via della Vigna Nuova, where he sold leather goods and luggage.

Guccio Gucci's four sons—Aldo, Vasco, Rodolfo, and adopted stepson Ugo—joined the family business. Guccio Gucci passed away in 1953, the same year his son Aldo introduced the brand's iconic horsebit loafer.

Material innovation

When a 1935 League of Nations embargo on Italy restricted leather imports during the pre-World War II period, Gucci developed alternative materials to continue production. The company created a new material from woven hemp sourced from Naples for their signature canapa bags, which featured a distinctive brown-on-tan diamond pattern. This innovation demonstrated the brand's adaptability during resource constraints.

Footwear

Horsebit loafer

The horsebit loafer was introduced in 1953 by Aldo Gucci shortly after his father's death. The design features a metal horse bit as an ornamental detail, serving as a nod to the company's roots in equestrian accessories. By 1969, Gucci was selling 84,000 pairs of horsebit loafers in the United States alone.

In 1985, the horsebit loafer became part of the permanent collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, recognizing it as an example of iconic Italian design. The shoe holds the distinction of being the only footwear item in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art.

ArtLab innovation center

Gucci inaugurated ArtLab on April 19, 2018, in Scandicci, just outside Florence near the company's headquarters. The 37,000-square-meter facility employs over 800 people and is dedicated to leather goods prototyping and handmade footwear production. The center represents the first facility in luxury industry history to house leather goods and footwear activities under one roof to improve skill sharing and best practices.

ArtLab includes prototyping capabilities for men's and women's footwear, an internal last and heel department for footwear development, and testing laboratories featuring a climate chamber for physical and chemical testing. Leather goods and footwear jointly constitute more than 70 percent of total sales for Gucci.

Expansion and retail

Gucci expanded beyond Florence with a Rome location in 1938. The company opened stores in Milan in 1951 and New York in 1952, marking its entry into the American market. International expansion continued with stores in London and Palm Beach in 1961, Paris during the 1960s, and Tokyo and Hong Kong in the 1970s. Under the direction of Aldo Gucci, the brand became recognized globally.

Ownership

The Gucci family was entirely ousted from company management by 1993 following years of internal family disputes. The French conglomerate PPR acquired Gucci in 1999, later renaming itself Kering in 2013. Gucci operates as a subsidiary of Kering, with its holding company based in Florence, Italy.