Gucci

An Italian luxury house founded in Florence in 1921 by Guccio Gucci, renowned for its interlocking GG monogram and equestrian-inspired craftsmanship.

About Gucci

Guccio Gucci opened a leather goods and luggage shop in Florence in 1921, having spent years observing the trunks and trimmed cases of wealthy guests while working at London's Savoy Hotel. That eye for fine travel goods, filtered through Tuscan leather craft, became the foundation of the house.

Gucci's signature green has marked its storefronts since the house's earliest days in Florence.

Key Points

1921

Founded in Florence

1933

GG monogram debuts

1953

Horsebit loafer

Kering

Part of the group

1921

Guccio Gucci opens a leather goods shop in Florence.

1933

The interlocking GG monogram is registered, honouring the founder's initials.

1950s

The green-red-green web stripe appears, echoing a horse's saddle girth.

1953

The horsebit loafer launches — later entering MoMA's permanent design collection.

1960s

The bamboo-handled bag becomes a house signature, born from post-war material shortages.

The Bamboo Bag

A handle born from wartime shortage

With leather in short supply after the Second World War, Gucci's artisans turned to bamboo — heating and bending the stalks by hand into a rounded, D-shaped handle. What began as a practical workaround became one of the house's most recognisable design signatures, still produced by hand in the same way today.

Bought into the Kering group in 2004, Gucci has moved through many creative directors and eras — from Tom Ford's 1990s revival to today — but the interlocking G, the web stripe, and that bamboo handle have anchored the house through every reinvention.