Introduction
On a crisp spring morning in 1995, fashion heir Maurizio Gucci was gunned down in broad daylight outside his Milan office. This shocking murder would captivate Italy and the world, exposing the dark underbelly of one of fashion's most illustrious dynasties. Sara Gay Forden's "House of Gucci" chronicles the remarkable rise, bitter fall, and ultimate resurgence of the Gucci fashion empire. It's a tale of family, ambition, creativity, betrayal, and revenge - set against the glittering backdrop of haute couture.
From its humble beginnings as a leather goods shop in Florence to its transformation into a global luxury powerhouse, the Gucci saga is filled with larger-than-life personalities and dramatic twists of fate. We'll explore how successive generations of the Gucci family built an iconic brand, only to nearly destroy it through infighting and mismanagement. And we'll see how outsiders ultimately stepped in to save Gucci and propel it to new heights of success and profitability.
At the center of it all is the ill-fated Maurizio Gucci - grandson of the founder, one-time chairman of the company, and victim of a murder plot orchestrated by his ex-wife. His story of promise, failure, and tragedy serves as the dramatic core around which the larger Gucci epic unfolds.
Forden, a veteran fashion industry journalist, weaves together meticulous research and colorful anecdotes to create a gripping narrative. She takes us behind the scenes of a family business turned global corporation, revealing the personal dramas and power struggles that shaped its destiny. It's a quintessential tale of how the mighty can fall - and sometimes rise again.
As we dive into the world of the Guccis, we'll discover:
- How the brand's signature styles and iconic logo came to be
- The expansion strategies that turned Gucci into an international name
- Family feuds that threatened to tear the company apart
- Maurizio Gucci's tumultuous reign and dramatic downfall
- The murder plot that shocked the fashion world
- How new leadership rescued and reinvented the struggling company
So step into the rarified world of Italian high fashion, where creativity and commerce collide with deadly consequences. This is the story of the House of Gucci.
Chapter 1: The Beginning of a Dynasty
Our story begins not with glitz and glamour, but with a poor young man named Guccio Gucci, born in Florence in 1881. The son of a modest straw hat maker, Guccio grew up surrounded by the rich artistic heritage and craftsmanship traditions of Renaissance Florence. But by his late teens, his family's business was failing. Seeking opportunity, Guccio set off for London at the turn of the century.
In London, Guccio found work as a dishwasher and bellhop at the luxurious Savoy Hotel. Though the work was menial, it gave him a window into the world of the wealthy elite. Guccio took careful note of the fine luggage carried by the hotel's well-heeled guests. He began to dream of one day creating his own line of high-quality travel goods.
After a few years, Guccio returned to Florence with savings in his pocket and a vision in his mind. He immersed himself in learning the leather trade, determined to create products that would appeal to discriminating travelers. In 1921, at the age of 40, Guccio seized his chance. He rented a small shop near Florence's ritziest shopping street and opened the first Gucci store.
Initially, Guccio stocked his shop with a curated selection of imported luggage. But he soon added a workshop in back and began producing his own designs. From the start, Guccio was obsessed with quality. He sought out the finest materials and most skilled artisans. A single Gucci bag might involve up to 100 pieces and take 10 hours to assemble.
Guccio's attention to detail extended to the leather itself. He arranged for calves to be raised in stalls to prevent any blemishes on their hides. The skins were then treated with fishbone grease to achieve Gucci's trademark supple texture. When leather became scarce during World War II, Guccio got creative. He introduced bags made from hemp, wicker, and wood - materials that would become Gucci signatures.
The business grew steadily through the 1920s and 30s. Guccio's impeccable products attracted an elite clientele of aristocrats and celebrities. In 1938, he opened a second boutique in Rome to serve the city's glamorous crowd. After the war, Gucci became hugely popular with American and British soldiers looking for luxury souvenirs to take home.
Throughout it all, Guccio maintained fanatical standards. Always immaculately dressed himself, he demanded perfection in every product that bore the Gucci name. His son Aldo would later sum up the Gucci philosophy: "Quality is remembered long after price is forgotten."
Guccio's five children - daughter Grimalda and sons Enzo, Aldo, Vasco, and Rodolfo - grew up in the family business. But it was Aldo who showed the most promise as a businessman. With a natural flair for sales and marketing, Aldo began pushing to expand and modernize the company in the post-war years.
Aldo championed the idea of a cohesive "Gucci concept" - a distinctive color palette and style that would make Gucci products instantly recognizable. He promoted the story (likely embellished) that the Guccis had once been noble saddlemakers, using this to justify equestrian-inspired design elements like the iconic green and red striped webbing. Most importantly, Aldo created the interlocking double-G logo that would become synonymous with Gucci luxury.
While Aldo focused on growth, his brother Rodolfo initially wanted nothing to do with handbags and leather goods. His passion was acting, and he pursued a film career under the stage name Maurizio D'Ancora. It was on a movie set that he met and fell in love with actress Sandra Ravel. They married in 1944 and had a son in 1948, naming him Maurizio after Rodolfo's screen persona.
But the Gucci business was booming, and Guccio and Aldo needed help to manage it all. In 1951, Rodolfo reluctantly gave up his acting dreams and joined the family firm, taking charge of a new Gucci store in Milan.
By the early 1950s, Gucci had become the epitome of Italian elegance. Owning a Gucci bag was a status symbol, and celebrity clients like Eleanor Roosevelt and Grace Kelly flocked to the stores. But Aldo had his sights set on an even bigger prize - the lucrative American market.
Guccio was hesitant to risk the company's hard-won success on international expansion. But he recognized his son's business acumen and eventually gave Aldo the green light to open Gucci's first American store. In 1953, Aldo set up shop on New York's 58th Street, just off Fifth Avenue. He shrewdly incorporated the first Gucci company in America and obtained exclusive rights to use the Gucci trademark in the US.
Just two weeks after the New York store opened, 72-year-old Guccio Gucci died of a heart attack. He had lived to see his small leather goods shop grow into an international luxury brand. But he was spared witnessing the family infighting that would soon threaten to tear his legacy apart.
In his will, Guccio divided ownership of the company between his sons, completely cutting out his daughter Grimalda despite her years of loyalty to the business. This act of patriarchal favoritism set the stage for decades of resentment and power struggles within the Gucci clan.
With the founder gone, the brothers divvied up responsibilities. Aldo took charge of international expansion, Vasco oversaw the Florence factory, and Rodolfo managed the Milan store and designed some of Gucci's most luxurious handbags. But it was clear that Aldo was now the driving force behind Gucci's growth.
Aldo was a workaholic, putting in long hours seven days a week and constantly traveling to oversee new store openings. When asked if he had any hobbies, he would simply laugh. His single-minded focus on building the Gucci empire paid off. By 1960, he had opened Gucci's first boutique directly on Fifth Avenue, followed by stores in London, Palm Beach, and Paris.
Gucci's product line expanded as well. Floral silk scarves and handbags with bamboo handles became must-have accessories for fashionable women. But it was a simple loafer that would cement Gucci's cult status. Featuring a distinctive metal horse bit across the front, the practical flat shoe was an instant hit with young working women in New York. By 1969, Gucci was selling over 80,000 pairs of the loafer in America alone.
In just a few decades, the Gucci name had become synonymous with accessible luxury. The brand successfully walked the line between exclusivity and mainstream appeal, attracting both old money elites and aspiring middle-class customers. But as we'll see, this delicate balance would prove difficult to maintain in the years ahead.
Chapter 2: New Generation, New Direction
As Gucci entered the 1970s, a new generation was coming of age within the family business. This changing of the guard would bring fresh energy and ideas - but also simmering tensions that threatened to boil over.
At the center of it all was Maurizio Gucci, Rodolfo's only son. Born in 1948, Maurizio grew up in the protective bubble of Gucci privilege. His mother died when he was just five, leaving Rodolfo to raise the boy as a single father. Maurizio had a strict upbringing, with after-school hours spent working in the family business and weekends at the family's lavish estate in St. Moritz.
As a young man, Maurizio began studying law in Milan. But his sheltered life left him awkward and shy. He didn't drink or know how to make small talk at parties. All that changed when he met Patrizia Reggiani at a soiree in 1970.
Patrizia was Maurizio's opposite in many ways - petite, vivacious, and hungry for the good life. The daughter of a truck company owner, she had social-climbing ambitions and saw Maurizio as her ticket to the top. For his part, Maurizio was instantly smitten with the woman he called his "little red elf."
Rodolfo strongly disapproved of the match, seeing Patrizia as exactly the kind of gold-digger he had warned his son about. But Maurizio was determined to marry her. In a dramatic gesture, he packed a bag and walked out on his father, moving in with Patrizia's family.
Over the next year, Maurizio finished his studies and gained confidence working in his future father-in-law's transport business. Meanwhile, Rodolfo stewed in resentment at losing his only child. When Maurizio and Patrizia married in an extravagant ceremony in 1972, not a single member of the Gucci family attended.
But Patrizia was determined to mend the rift between father and son. She convinced Maurizio's uncle Aldo - who was impressed by his nephew's newfound determination - to intervene with Rodolfo. The gambit worked. Two years after Maurizio's dramatic exit, Rodolfo welcomed him back as if nothing had happened. He even suggested the young couple move to New York to work with Aldo in the family business.
Maurizio and Patrizia settled into a luxurious life in Manhattan. They had two daughters in quick succession - Alessandra, named after Maurizio's late mother, and Allegra. For a time, it seemed the Gucci family drama had been resolved and a new generation was ready to take the reins.
But trouble was brewing behind the scenes. Aldo's youngest son, Paolo, was causing friction within the company. Put in charge of the Florence factory after his uncle Vasco's death, Paolo constantly clashed with Rodolfo over creative direction. His bird-themed scarf designs and forays into ready-to-wear clothing were at odds with Gucci's traditional aesthetic.
To ease tensions, Aldo brought Paolo to New York in 1978. But father and son butted heads there as well. Paolo dreamed of launching his own "PG Collection" line. When Aldo caught wind of these plans, he exploded in rage, calling his son a "fantastic idiot" for trying to compete with Gucci. He fired Paolo on the spot.
Meanwhile, Rodolfo had grown suspicious of Aldo's business dealings, particularly around a new Gucci Parfums division and accessories line. He hired a lawyer named Domenico De Sole to help him gain more control over these operations. The stage was set for an epic family feud.
Aldo tried to enlist Paolo's support in the brewing battle with Rodolfo. But Paolo was still smarting from his firing and refused to help. In a fit of anger, Aldo hurled a crystal ashtray at his son, showering him with shards of glass. From that moment on, Paolo was determined to bring down the Gucci empire - even if it meant destroying his own father.
Over the next few years, Paolo combed through Gucci's financial records. He discovered evidence that millions of dollars were being funneled into offshore accounts to avoid taxes. In 1982, Paolo used this information to file a wrongful termination lawsuit against his father.
Paolo hoped the threat of exposure would force Aldo to either let him launch his own line or bring him back into the fold. Instead, it resulted in Aldo being sentenced to a year in prison for tax evasion at the age of 81. It was a crushing blow to the man who had done so much to build Gucci into a global powerhouse.
As for Paolo, his own design ventures quickly fizzled out. His cousin Maurizio would later remark that Paolo's greatest life achievement was putting his own father behind bars. The Gucci family was eating itself alive.
Chapter 3: The Era of Maurizio
As the 1980s dawned, Maurizio Gucci was poised to take control of the family business. His grandfather Guccio and uncles Vasco and Aldo were gone or sidelined. His father Rodolfo was in declining health. At last, it seemed Maurizio's time had come.
In November 1982, Maurizio and Patrizia attended a screening of a film Rodolfo had commissioned about his life with Maurizio's late mother. It was a grandiose gesture of love, but also carried a warning. "True wisdom," the film concluded, "lies in what we can do with the real riches of this world - beyond the ones we can trade or manage - the riches of life, youth, friendship, love."
Rodolfo worried about his son's growing zeal for business and lavish spending. But it was too late for such counsel. In May 1983, Rodolfo fell into a coma and died. At age 35, Maurizio was finally free to chart Gucci's future.
Maurizio had absorbed much from his uncle Aldo during his time in New York. He had developed his own brand of charisma and infectious enthusiasm. Now he was determined to modernize and revitalize the Gucci brand.
While still synonymous with quality, Gucci had lost some of its luster in the face of edgier labels like Armani and Versace. Maurizio's mission was to relaunch Gucci as the epitome of luxury and style. "We have a Ferrari," he would say, "but we are driving it like a Cinquecento!"
With a laser focus on quality and brand coherence, Maurizio drastically reduced Gucci's sprawling product line and cut the number of stores. He wanted every item bearing the Gucci name to be impeccable.
Patrizia eagerly embraced her husband's ascendance, telling everyone who would listen that "the era of Maurizio has begun." She pushed him relentlessly to prove himself as a leader. Aldo and the other family members underestimated Maurizio's ambition - and his willingness to push them aside.
In a shrewd move, Maurizio formed an alliance with his cousin Paolo to take control of Gucci's board of directors. Aldo was blindsided. The press portrayed Maurizio as a peacemaker healing the fractured family. In reality, he was consolidating his own power.
But Aldo and his sons weren't going down without a fight. In June 1985, they provided authorities with evidence that Maurizio had forged his father's signature on share certificates to avoid paying millions in inheritance taxes. When police arrived at Maurizio's office with an arrest warrant, he was ready. He fled on his motorcycle to the family's estate in Switzerland.
For the next year, Maurizio lived in exile, plotting his next move. He was determined to buy out his relatives and bring in outside investors who shared his vision for Gucci. Working with Morgan Stanley, he brokered a deal with an investment firm called Investcorp to gradually acquire the shares held by Aldo and his sons.
Meanwhile, Maurizio's lawyers negotiated an agreement allowing him to return to Italy and face the forgery charges without jail time. By 1989, Investcorp had bought out Maurizio's cousins. Aldo, now in his late 80s, was forced to sign over his last piece of the empire he had worked so hard to build. The era of family control was over. Maurizio was now CEO and chairman of Gucci.
Maurizio reveled in his newfound power. After years of being controlled by his father, wife, and relatives, he was finally calling the shots. He was determined to restore Gucci to its former glory - no matter the cost.
In January 1990, Maurizio made a bold and controversial move. He announced the immediate shutdown of Gucci Accessories Collection (GAC) - the line of lower-priced canvas bags and accessories that accounted for much of Gucci's U.S. sales. He also discontinued all wholesale business. Gucci would now focus solely on its high-end products.
Domenico De Sole, who had risen to become president of Gucci America, urged caution. Eliminating GAC would slash revenues dramatically. But Maurizio was adamant. He wanted a clean break with the past.
To lead Gucci's creative revival, Maurizio hired Dawn Mello, the former president of Bergdorf Goodman. Mello set about revitalizing classic designs, expanding into mainstream apparel, and recruiting fresh talent - including a young American designer named Tom Ford.
But Maurizio had moved too fast. When Investcorp reviewed Gucci's performance a year later, the numbers were alarming. Sales had plummeted by $100 million while expenses had ballooned by $30 million due to store renovations. Gucci had gone from $60 million in profit to $60 million in losses.
Maurizio begged Investcorp for more time, certain that sales would soon skyrocket. And Mello's team was indeed doing great work in repositioning the brand. But by eliminating GAC before new products were ready, Maurizio had left Gucci stores empty for months. Many customers assumed the company was going out of business.
As Gucci's finances deteriorated, so did Maurizio's personal situation. With the company in the red, he received no income from his 50% stake. He had burned through his cash reserves and taken on massive debts betting on future profits. By 1993, he owed $40 million to creditors. Banks moved to seize his assets.
Investcorp had seen enough. To force Maurizio to step down as chairman, they charged him with mismanaging the company. In September 1993, Maurizio finally capitulated. He sold his entire ownership stake to Investcorp for $120 million.
The following year, Dawn Mello resigned and Tom Ford took over as creative director. With Maurizio gone, Ford had free rein to reinvent Gucci's image. His sexy, provocative designs - like slinky satin shirts, towering stilettos, and velvet hip-huggers - created a sensation on runways and red carpets. Suddenly Gucci was cool again.
Buoyed by Ford's success, Investcorp took Gucci public in 1995. Domenico De Sole, who had deftly navigated the tumultuous Maurizio years, was named CEO. Under their leadership, Gucci's fortunes soared. By the end of 1995, revenues hit $500 million. Maurizio's prediction of exploding sales had come true - just not under his management.
Chapter 4: Paradise Lost
As Maurizio's professional life imploded, his personal life was also in shambles. His relationship with Patrizia had been deteriorating for years. Once his strongest supporter, Patrizia had become an annoyance to Maurizio. He began referring to his "little red elf" as the "witch piri-piri" after a cartoon character.
On May 22, 1985 - the same year authorities came after him for tax evasion - Maurizio packed his bags and walked out on Patrizia. She was devastated, feeling her carefully constructed world crumbling around her. To cope, Patrizia turned to her friend Pina for support and distraction. She also began obsessively documenting every interaction with Maurizio in her diary.
That Christmas, Maurizio agreed to spend the holiday with Patrizia and their daughters in St. Moritz. Patrizia was elated, seeing it as a chance for reconciliation. She decorated their home festively and looked forward to attending midnight mass together as a family.
But Maurizio went to bed early on Christmas Eve, leaving Patrizia to attend mass alone. The next morning, his gift to her was a keychain and an antique watch she hated. That evening, Patrizia learned Maurizio planned to leave early the next day. When she confronted him angrily, he grabbed her by the throat and lifted her off the ground, sneering "This way you'll grow tall!" It was clear their marriage was beyond saving.
After that, Maurizio tried to cut ties with Patrizia as much as possible. He still deposited around $100,000 a month in her account but banned her from the family properties in St. Moritz. In the fall of 1991, Maurizio asked for a divorce. Patrizia vowed revenge.
Around this time, Patrizia began suffering from crippling headaches. In May 1992, doctors discovered a brain tumor and told her she needed immediate surgery with slim chances of survival. As she was wheeled into the operating room, Patrizia said goodbye to her mother and daughters. Maurizio never showed up.
The tumor turned out to be benign. As Patrizia recovered, she plotted her vengeance against Maurizio. She wrote "Vendetta" in her diary and negotiated a ruthless divorce settlement including millions in payments and property.
The divorce was finalized in November 1994. Maurizio was elated to finally be free. He went home early to surprise his new partner Paola with a celebratory martini. His personal and financial problems seemed to be behind him. With over $100 million in the bank from selling his Gucci shares, Maurizio felt ready to start fresh. He bought a bicycle and began dreaming up new business ventures.
But Maurizio's new lease on life would be tragically short. Just four months later, on the morning of March 27, 1995, he was gunned down outside his Milan office. When Patrizia heard the news, she wept - then composed herself and wrote a single word in her diary: "PARADEISOS" (paradise). That afternoon, she went to Maurizio's apartment and ordered his girlfriend Paola to leave. The home now belonged to her daughters - and by extension, to her. "He may have died," Patrizia told a friend, "but I have just begun to live."
Chapter 5: The Black Widow's Last Stand
In the predawn hours of January 31, 1997, police cars pulled up outside Patrizia Gucci's Milan palazzo. Chief investigator Filippo Ninni had an arrest warrant for Maurizio Gucci's ex-wife.
When Patrizia emerged from her bedroom, Ninni was stunned by her appearance. Dripping in diamonds and fur, clutching a Gucci handbag, she looked ready for a gala rather than a jail cell. "I'll be back tonight," she breezily told her daughters as she donned sunglasses. That day, shocking news dominated the headlines: Maurizio Gucci's ex-wife and four accomplices had been arrested for his murder.
It had been nearly two years since Maurizio's death, and the investigation had gone cold - until the evening of January 8, 1997. That's when Ninni received a fateful phone call: "I know who killed Maurizio Gucci." The caller was Gabriele Carpanese, a small-time criminal who had recently returned to Italy. He and his wife were staying at a cheap hotel, where Carpanese befriended the sleazy doorman, Ivano Savioni.
Over drinks one day, Savioni had let slip that he helped arrange Maurizio Gucci's murder. Bit by bit, Carpanese pieced together the full story. Patrizia Reggiani had paid 600 million lire (about $375,000) to have Maurizio killed. Her longtime friend Pina Auriemma acted as intermediary, contacting Savioni to set up the hit. Savioni then enlisted Orazio Cicala, a 56-year-old pizzeria owner drowning in gambling debts, to drive the getaway car. Cicala's neighbor Benedetto Ceraulo agreed to be the triggerman.
Armed with this information, Ninni was able to corroborate the story through wiretaps and by tricking Savioni into a confession. After nearly two years, he finally had what he needed to crack the case.
Following her arrest, Patrizia was jailed to await trial. Day by day, the woman dubbed the "Black Widow" by the press saw her gilded dreams slipping away. For 15 months, neither Patrizia nor her friend Pina said a word about the crime. But in March 1998, Pina angrily broke her silence. She revealed that Patrizia had secretly tried to bribe her into taking sole blame for Maurizio's murder. Outraged by this betrayal, Pina spilled the whole story - corroborating the version of events Savioni had confessed to.
Patrizia's trial began on June 2, 1998. As she entered the courtroom, photographers swarmed and the crowd buzzed with excitement. On the witness stand, Patrizia spoke at length about her marriage - 13 years of "perfect bliss" followed by disillusionment as Maurizio changed and stopped heeding her advice. She admitted her hatred for Maurizio had become "an obsession." But she never confessed to ordering the murder. In Patrizia's version of events, Pina had given her a "present" (arranging the hit) and then blackmailed her into paying for it.
For months, Italians followed every twist and turn of the sensational Gucci trial. It had all the elements of an epic saga - love, luxury, betrayal, and murder. In the end, the evidence was too overwhelming. Patrizia and her co-conspirators were all found guilty. As the judge read out her 29-year sentence, Patrizia's face remained expressionless. She looked down for a moment, then stared straight ahead.
That week, Gucci window displays around the world featured a pair of sterling silver handcuffs - a final, ironic twist to the sordid tale.
Epilogue: Gucci Reborn
The murder trial marked the end of an era for the house of Gucci. For decades, it had been a tumultuous family enterprise, with fashion genius offset by bitter feuds that often overshadowed the company's achievements. In just 80 years, a poor dishwasher's vision had evolved into a global luxury powerhouse through savvy expansion, innovative business moves, and trend-setting designs that redefined style and status.
As the new millennium approached, Gucci had transformed into a publicly traded corporation worth $3 billion. But there was one final challenge to overcome. French tycoon Bernard Arnault, head of the LVMH luxury group, had been quietly buying up Gucci shares in an attempt to take control of the company. By 1999, he had acquired a 34% stake.
Once again, it fell to the wily Domenico De Sole to outmaneuver a threat to Gucci's independence. De Sole orchestrated a surprising alliance that preserved the company's autonomy. By partnering with François Pinault, another French billionaire looking to compete with Arnault, Gucci effectively diluted LVMH's stake from 34% to 21% - locking Arnault out of any decision-making power.
The deal also allowed Gucci to acquire Yves Saint Laurent, laying the groundwork for its evolution into the multi-brand luxury group it is today. Under the creative leadership of Tom Ford and business acumen of De Sole, Gucci entered the 21st century stronger than ever.
Final Thoughts
The story of the house of Gucci is a quintessential tale of the rise and fall - and rise again - of a family dynasty. It demonstrates how success can plant the seeds of its own destruction when egos, greed, and infighting are allowed to flourish unchecked.
Guccio Gucci built his company on a foundation of quality and innovation, creating products that appealed to the tastes of the global elite. His sons, particularly Aldo, had the vision to transform Gucci into an international brand and pioneer new business models in the luxury sector.
But as the family's wealth and power grew, so did the potential for conflict. Guccio's decision to favor his sons over his daughter in his will set the stage for decades of resentment. The clashing personalities and ambitions of successive generations led to power struggles that nearly destroyed the company.
Maurizio Gucci's tragic arc embodies the perils of unchecked ambition and entitlement. Raised in luxury and thrust into power, he lacked the temperament and experience to effectively lead a global corporation. His grandiose plans and reckless spending brought Gucci to the brink of ruin. And his tumultuous personal life ultimately led to his murder at the hands of his embittered ex-wife.
Yet out of this dysfunction emerged an even stronger company. By bringing in outside investors and professional management, Gucci was able to harness its creative energy and brand equity more effectively than ever. The partnership of businessman Domenico De Sole and designer Tom Ford ushered in a new golden age for Gucci in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Today, Gucci remains one of the world's most valuable luxury brands, with revenues of over €9 billion in 2019. While no longer family-owned, it has managed to maintain the aura of heritage and craftsmanship established by its founder. The Gucci name is still synonymous with Italian style and quality.
The Gucci saga serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of mixing family and business. But it also demonstrates the enduring power of a truly iconic brand. Through all its ups and downs, the allure of the Gucci name has remained undiminished. It's a testament to Guccio Gucci's original vision - and the talented designers and executives who have carried that vision forward.
In the end, the house that Gucci built proved more durable than the family that created it. It's a reminder that in fashion, as in life, true classics never go out of style.