Gucci Documentary Fashion Film Worth 17 Billion Dollars World Wide
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00:00 The Rich Rabbit
00:14 In the era of technology, the value of a brand is not determined by the stores it has worldwide,
00:20 but the social media brand value.
00:23 Brands invest a major amount of their earnings on their online appearance.
00:27 When we talk about the online presence, we talk about the e-commerce strategies, social
00:32 media following, and store value.
00:35 Talking about the most popular brands online, there is no brand more popular than Gucci.
00:40 We're talking about a brand value of $17.6 billion.
00:45 Gucci is home to 2400 employees, and with more than 400 stores worldwide, it has spread
00:51 its wings all around the globe.
00:54 When the name Gucci comes to mind, most fashion files conjure the image of excess that Alessandro
00:59 Michel has dreamed up in the last few years.
01:03 Or perhaps they think of Tom Ford's scandalous silhouettes and shocking ad campaigns.
01:09 But long before marquee designers were running the show at Gucci, the fashion house got its
01:13 start as a humble leather shop.
01:16 Yep, you heard it right, a humble leather shop.
01:21 Born on March 26, 1881 to a simple Italian leather goods maker, Guccio Gucci was a porter
01:27 at the Savoy Hotel in London when he first became enamored with the glamorous suitcases
01:33 that the guests arrived with from all over the globe.
01:38 He eventually returned to his native Florence to work for Franci, a Tony luggage brand.
01:45 Years later, Gucci was ready to strike out on his own, and in 1921 he opened his own
01:50 eponymous leather goods store in Florence.
01:54 In the beginning, Gucci's main business was making saddles and other accessories for horseback
02:00 riders, always crafted from the finest of Italian leathers.
02:06 His designs continued to gain popularity as he expanded further into the world of accessories,
02:12 with English aristocrats becoming major fans of the up-and-coming label.
02:17 And today, this equestrian flair can be seen in Gucci's modern creations, including the
02:22 beloved horseback detail and the red and green woven stripe inspired by saddle details.
02:30 Gucci enlisted his three sons, Aldo, Vasco and Rodolfo, to join the business in 1938
02:37 and they were tasked with expanding the brand's presence, bringing Gucci to Rome and eventually
02:41 Milan in later years.
02:45 Weather was hard to come by in the mid-1930s because of sanctions against Italy, so Gucci
02:51 began experimenting with alternative textiles.
02:54 This led to the very first signature Gucci print, small interconnected diamonds in dark
02:59 brown woven into a tan hem fabric.
03:04 The iconic bamboo bag was born under similar circumstances in 1947.
03:10 Gucci artisans were scrambling to find materials towards the end of World War II and discovered
03:16 that they could use Japanese bamboo to craft unique bag handles.
03:21 Treated with a unique and patented method, these burnished bamboo handles became synonymous
03:26 with Gucci that we all know and love.
03:31 In 1953, just 15 days after Gucci's first New York boutique opened its doors, Gucci
03:37 passed away.
03:38 But despite Gucci's untimely death, his brand continued to flourish and the Gucci's
03:43 arrival in the US was embraced by American consumers.
03:47 The decade that followed was a golden era for Gucci thanks to celebrities who began
03:52 proudly supporting its designs.
03:56 There was Elizabeth Taylor and Peter Sellers who were both fans of unisex Gucci totes.
04:02 Jackie Kennedy carried a slouchy Gucci purse in public and the bag was swiftly and officially
04:08 renamed the Jackie.
04:12 Grace Kelly stopped into a Gucci store to pick up a bamboo bag and as a token of his
04:16 gratitude, Rodolfo Gucci asked Italian illustrator Vittorio Acornero to design a floral scarf
04:23 for the beloved Princess of Monaco.
04:26 The resulting print became known as Flora, a Gucci signature that features 43 types of
04:32 flowers, plants and insects depicted through a vivid array of 37 colors.
04:38 The logo of two interlocking G's was also introduced around this time.
04:47 In the 70s, Gucci looked to the east putting down roots in Tokyo and then Hong Kong but
04:53 the golden era seemed to be over.
04:56 The Gucci brothers were constantly fighting even though the brand debuted their first
05:01 ready-to-wear collection in 1981.
05:04 At that point, Rodolfo's son Arizio had taken over and ousted his uncle Aldo while bringing
05:10 the house close to bankruptcy.
05:13 But it was time to revive Gucci and that began with the appointment of Don Mello as creative
05:17 director.
05:19 The former president of Bergdorf Goodman joined the house in 1989 and brought with her a major
05:24 team, Richard Lambertson as design director, Neil Barrett designing menswear and Tom Ford
05:30 as the women's ready-to-wear designer.
05:35 Under Mello's charge, the original Gucci loafer was reintroduced in a rainbow of colors to
05:40 much fanfare.
05:41 Sadly, much of the other designs were not well received and Mello returned to her cushy
05:46 role at Bergdorf's in 1994.
05:51 In fact, it's Tom Ford that has been celebrated as Gucci's actual savior and rightly so.
05:57 But following a tussle with PPR, the agency that purchased Gucci in 2004, Ford decided
06:04 it was time to move on and in what feels like a forgotten era in Gucci's timeline, Alessandra
06:10 Facinetti stepped in to take charge of the women's collections.
06:14 She lasted only two unremarkable seasons before leaving the brand in 2005.
06:21 Her vacancy left room for Frida Giannini to step into the spotlight.
06:26 She had been with Gucci since 2002 when she was hired at the ripe age of 24 to become
06:31 the director of handbags, a sector that was a huge cash cow for Gucci.
06:37 She was eventually promoted to oversee the entire accessories category and Giannini's
06:42 massive success there primed her for the top job.
06:46 During her tenure at Gucci, she seemed to be in constant revival mode, revamping the
06:51 iconic flora print, putting her signature on the red and green stripe and refreshing
06:57 the bamboo bag.
06:58 There was a bit of drama during Giannini's time.
07:01 In 2011, she disclosed that she had been secretly involved in a two-year relationship with Gucci's
07:07 CEO at the time, Patricio Di Marco.
07:11 In 2013, the partners welcomed a daughter, Greta, and eventually got married two years
07:16 later.
07:17 Giannini's time at Gucci was immortalized in The Director, a documentary that followed
07:23 Giannini around for 18 months.
07:26 In fact, Alessandro Michel can be spotted in the film, working as an associate director
07:31 along his predecessor, though he's nearly camouflaged in a low-key black suit.
07:37 Giannini's approach kept fans and critics interested for a while, but her collections
07:42 eventually became mundane, so amid waning sales and lackluster reviews, she was laid
07:48 off.
07:49 A few days later, Di Marco was also ousted.
07:54 When Gucci announced that Michel would be taking over in 2015, it seemed as if he had
07:59 been plucked from obscurity for such an important role.
08:03 However, he had been working with the company for over 12 years and was ready to jump right
08:08 in.
08:09 In the four years since stepping up as creative director, Michel has turned Gucci into a maximalist
08:15 dream with collections that seem to seep from his imagination onto an intricately designed
08:20 runway.
08:22 With crystals, ruffles, vibrant color schemes, baby dragons, and fake heads, plus endless
08:27 pop culture references and an innate understanding of social consciousness, Michel has returned
08:34 Gucci to the "it" status it held under Ford.
08:38 In fact, while in a state of forward thinking and constant creation, Michel has still found
08:43 a monumental way to pay homage to the brand's storied past.
08:47 Under his direction, Gucci Garden was created in Florence's historic Palazzo della Marcanzia
08:53 in 2018.
08:55 Alongside Gucci Osteria de Massimo Bottura, a restaurant bedecked entirely in the brand's
09:01 wares and a boutique, is a museum that traces Gucci back to its beginning.
09:07 Seen through Michel's ornamented lens, the rich history of this Italian brand melds with
09:12 the present, offering solid proof that there's plenty more history to be written at Gucci.
09:23 (upbeat music)