In 1881 Guccio Gucci was born in Florence. He found some work at the Savoy
Hotel, London in 1897 but returned to Florence to join the leather manufacturer
Franzi in 1902.
Between 1905 to 1912 Gucci and his wife Aida have three sons, Aldo, Vasco and
Rodolfo. He doesn't open his first store in Florence until 1921 when he was 40,
and had his first successful suitcases made in 1936. In 1938, the Rome store
opened on Via Condotti in 1938.
After World War 11 Gucci introduced the pigskin, which became a signature
house material and the first bamboo-handled bag, inspired by the shape of a
saddle was produced.
Rodolfo (one of his sons) opened the first Milan store
in 1951 when the green-red-green web became a hallmark of the company. By 1953
Gucci became a pioneer of Italian design in the US where Aldo (another son)
opened the first American store in the Savoy Plaza Hotel on East 59th Street in
New York.
Guccio Gucci died at age 72, only 15 days after the New York store opens.
Since then his sons have opened stores all over the world and the rest is
history.
