GUCCI

Origin: Florence, Italy

Founded: 1921

Founder: Guccio Gucci

Brand Story:

Founded in Florence in 1921 by Guccio Gucci, the house began as a fine luggage workshop inspired by the refined elegance Guccio observed while working as a porter at London’s Savoy Hotel. Merging English equestrian aesthetics with Tuscan leather craftsmanship, the brand birthed iconic motifs including the Horsebit hardware and the green-red-green Web stripe. During wartime leather shortages in the 1940s, Gucci innovated using heat-curved Japanese bamboo, creating the legendary Bamboo Bag. The house skyrocketed into a global jet-set staple in the mid-20th century, championed by icons like Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis—for whom the Jackie bag was renamed—and Grace Kelly, who inspired the famous Flora print. Modernized by Tom Ford's sensual glamor in the 1990s and Alessandro Michele's maximalist romanticism in the 2010s, Gucci remains an undisputed titan of Italian luxury, defined by its iconic interlocking GG monogram and rich equestrian heritage.