Guccio Giovanbattista Giacinto Dario Maria Gucci (26 March 1881 – 2 January 1953) was an Italian businessman and fashion designer. He is known for being the founder of the fashion house of Gucci.
Early life
Guccio was born in Florence, Tuscany on 26 March 1881. He is the son of Tuscan parents, Gabriello Gucci, a leather craftsman from San Miniato, and Elena Santini, from Lastra a Signa.
As a teenager in c.1899, Guccio Gucci was working at the Savoy Hotel in London. Little is known about his early life circumstances and what influenced his move to London. Gucci was inspired by the elegant upper-class hotel guests and by luggage companies such as H. J. Cave & Sons. He returned to Florence and started making travel bags and accessories.
Career
In 1921, he founded the House of Gucci in Florence, as a small family-owned leather shop. He began selling leather bags to horsemen in the 1920s. In 1938, Gucci expanded his business to a second location in Rome, at the insistence of his son Aldo. His one-man business eventually turned into a family business, when his sons joined the company.
In 1951, Gucci opened their store in Milan. He wanted to keep the business small and while he was alive, the company remained only in Italy. Two weeks before Guccio Gucci’s death, the New York Gucci boutique was opened by his sons Aldo, Rodolfo, and Vasco.
Death and legacy
He died on 2 January 1953 in Milan. After his death (in 1953), the business was left to his five sons. With the change in leadership the Gucci brand expanded to opening international locations and a diversification of product line.
The Gucci Museum (also called Gucci Garden) in Florence, is a fashion museum centered around the history of company and Guccio Gucci.
Personal life
Gucci and his wife, Aida Calvelli married in 1901 and had six children, five sons and one daughter. His son Ugo Calvelli Gucci (1899–1973) was adopted, born from his mother Aida Calvelli’s previous relationship. His son Enzo (1904–1913) died in childhood. His sons Vasco, Aldo, Ugo and Rodolfo Gucci held prominent roles in his company, and his daughter was not given a role. There was a lot of sibling rivalry to hold power within the company, and by the 1980s, this became a serious issue dividing the family.
In his final years, he lived near Rusper, in West Sussex, England.