Born in 1881, craftsman’s son Guccio Gucci founded the House of Gucci as a saddlery shop in Florence in 1906. He started out selling leather bags to horsemen in the 1920’s and progressed to luxury luggage as his clients graduated from equine transportation to horseless carriages.

Guccio fathered four sons - Aldo, Ugo, Vasco and Rodolfo. It was them who expanded the firm and opened new shops in Florence, Rome and Milan. It was after World War II when the characteristic double G motif was first introduced. In 1953, Guccio's son Aldo and Rodolfo opened the first overseas Gucci shop in New York, the year that Guccio died. The 1960s proved to be very kind to the House of Gucci, with the Gucci brand considered to be one of the status symbols of the times. But, with the success of their stores came clashes among family members. This was documented in tabloids and newspapers all over the world.

In 1994, Gucci axed most of its staff and promoted a 36-year old studio assistant named Tom Ford to the position of creative director. Ford has brought Gucci back to the center of chic, and now commands a varied line of products including leather fashions, perfumes, colognes, cosmetics, shoes, suitcases, watches, jewelry, silk scarves, sports articles, belt clasps (the one with the Guccio Gucci initials, was introduced in 1964), ties, and eyeglasses.