Picking up where we left off, Gucci is in turmoil and the family's infighting has created serious problems for the fashion giant. In 1972, Aldo Gucci expanded the company's reputation and brand power by signing a deel with American Motors Corporation (AMC) to design a special luxury trim package for the AMC Hornet Sportabout. This, along with the Gucci Accessories Collection, opened the company to wider markets and a larger range of brand recognition.

Despite this, the Gucci dynasty came crashing down when the Perfumes division, which the Accessories division was to prop up, outsold it and thus lost the company a lot of money. This and the lower-priced items in the GAC had the result of spoiling the company's name amongst their base customers: the higher-end, luxury fashion market. It was fast becoming just another fashion brand in a sea of fashion design.

Cheap knockoffs of Gucci's products began to appear at the same time, further soiling the company's name. Then the death of Rodolfo (Aldo's chief rival) and the inheritance by his son Maurizio brought about huge changes in the company. The younger generation, lead by Maurizio, bolstered by a lawsuit with Gucci's chief rival LVMH, and the stepping or ousting of older and more contentious family members changed everything.

Looking outside of Gucci's talent pool, Maurizio began to revitalize the company's image, and in the late 1980s began to make Gucci one of the world's most influential fashion houses. For the first time in it's long company history, the company went public in 1995 and two years later, the company acquired watch licenses and began producing some of what are now the world's best-known fashion watches.

Now, Gucci has reached iconic status, with people the world over recognizing the logo, name, and fashions almost universally. Black Gucci shoes, Men's Gucci jackets and jeans, and even Gucci branded business and credit card holders have reached the status of household recognition.

Gucci is fashion and that's why people like us love it so much. It's not just a name, it's a whole history of beautiful design.

Picking up where we left off, Guccio was prospering with his new company and, having designed a new logo, was hitting the world with a wave of new products to go along with it. After his death in 1953, his son Aldo took the reigns and began leading the company forward into the modern era.

The company opened boutiques in London, Paris, and New York, displaying Gucci clutch wallets, Gucci hats, and more to the entire world for the first time on a large scale. During this expansion, Gucci suffered in-fighting amongst family members over inheritance and rights of ownership. Despite this, the company expanded into the Far East in the late 1960s, opening stores in Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Korea.

This was when the now-famous and immediately recognizable GG label was introduced. Gucci's Floral silk scarf was made famous by actress Grace Kelly during this time as well, producing some of the hottest sales the company had seen to-date. At this time, Aldo's sons had taken over departmental operations and he was free to design more often, producing the Gucci Accessories Collection (GAC) in 1979.

This new collection allowed the company to showcase lower-priced items such as cosmetic bags, pens, and lighters to augment the Gucci Perfumes sector and to introduce people to the luxury name without luxury prices. All the while, family alliances and arguments still threatened the company.

In the last installment, we will look at how these issues resolved and how Gucci and the famous GG logo went on to dominate the luxury fashion world.

With all this talk about Gucci and their products, it occurred to me that there may be people out there who don't know much about Gucci the company. Sure, it's all about the Gucci dresses, Gucci watches, and Gucci heels, but there's a company behind the mythos surrounding the name.

Most people know who Gucci is, or at least know that they're clothing and fashion related. You might know they're Italian. It's possible, though, that this is the extent of your knowledge of Gucci. Well, let's look closer then.

Gucci is actually short for the full name “The House of Gucci” and it's an Italian fashion and leather goods label. It was founded by Guccio Gucci in Florence, Italy, in 1921 and is now considered one of the most famous and most recognized fashion brands in the world. It's name is synonymous with style.

Gucci is the biggest selling Italian brand in the world and is the second biggest-selling fashion brand as well. The Bamboo Handle Handbag was one of the first notable products, being introduced in 1947. Shortly after that, the trademarked striped webbing arrived, based on a saddle girth with a suede moccasin with a metal bit. All were designed by Guccio.

In our next installment, we'll look at how Gucci rose to prominence under the guidance of Guccio's son Aldo. Until then, remember that Gucci is more than handbags and shoes. It's an icon.

photo credit: LeeLeeLu  Have you seen the new Gucci sunglasses?  I love them!  One of my favorite pair is the Gucci Marina Chain frames.  They have a very classic appeal, yet are edgy enough with the marina chain detail to accompany any outfit.  Gucci sunglasses will always add a touch of class to your overall appearance.  This pair of Gucci sunglasses is only offered in gold metal frame with brown lenses and is only available in women’s.  The combination of exact colors for these sunglasses works very well with any color of clothing combination.  The gold detail in the Marina Chain is very Gucci without screaming Gucci. 

  Another Gucci Sunglass design that I love is the plastic frame with the Crystal Interlocking G.  These are offered in three different color combinations: white frames and silver metal frame with grey lens and silver hardware, tortoise plastic and gold metal frame with dark brown gradient lens and light gold hardware, and black plastic and black metal frame with grey lens and silver hardware.  This particular sunglass style by Gucci is a website exclusive.  I always love exclusive designs, whether they are available online only or in particular cities or stores, because you will not run the risk of seeing every other person on the street with the same pair of Gucci Sunglasses as you.