Gucci's Flora Snake Silk Scarf. Gucci's founder, Guccio Gucci, sent his youngest son, Rodolf Gucci, at the age of 17, to Rome one day in 1929. It was an errand to deliver goods to important customers. However, director Mario Camerini, who happened to be in the lobby of the Plaza Hotel in Rome, suggested that the handsome Rodolph take a screen test. Rodolph responded, and he became a movie star. Rodolph appeared in Camerini's 'The Railroad' under the stage name of Maurizio Dancora. The film was so successful that it was considered one of the masterpieces of early Italian cinema.
However, the films made after that did not perform as well as 'The Railroad'. Rodolph married a newcomer in the same film in Venice in 1944, romantically. On September 26, 1948, Rodolf's son Mauricio Gucci was born. Mauricio was later tragic as he was murdered by his ex-wife, Patria Gia Reggiani, and was also the person who ended his family's involvement with the group by selling his family business, Gucci, to Investcorp, a Bahrain-based investment fund.
Rodolph had no intention of getting involved in the family business at first. But the opportunity for change has come. In 1935, while he was building his film career, Benito Mussolini's invasion of Ethiopia took a toll on Gucci. The League of Nations imposed an embargo on Italy.
1950's Gucci handbag rises as synonymous with 'refined style'
With 52 countries refusing to sell and supply Italian products, founder Guccio was unable to obtain the high-quality leather and materials needed to make expensive suitcases. Guchio feared that the business he started would face a similar fate as his father's straw hat company, which went bankrupt a few years ago. He found another way. He set up a factory to make boots for the Italian army. Neighbor Salvatore Ferragamo at the time was producing some of the finest shoes during the embargo. The shoes were made from cork, raffia, palm trees, and cellophane for candy packaging.
Rodolph Gucci, the youngest son of Gucci's founder. He also worked as an actor. The Gucci family sought as much leather as they could in Italy, including quoiograss from the tannery in Santa Croce. It was obtained from specially bred calves. To prevent scratching, the skins of calves, which were carefully fed only in stalls, were dried and then treated with lubricating oil extracted from the fish thorns. The leather that has undergone this process is soft, smooth, and has excellent elasticity. Even just stroking it with a finger, the scratches miraculously disappeared.
Rodolph had success as an actor. After the war, however, the Italian film industry underwent a radical change. As the sound film replaced the silent film, neorealist directors such as Roberto Rossellini and Luchino Visconti did not want the previously schematized actors. Naturally, an important role did not return to Rodolph. He returned to his family business at the behest of his wife. Aldo, the founder's eldest son, who has been insisting on a family run since the beginning, asked his father to allow Rodolph's return.
Guccio sent Rodolph to the Parione store. The handsome Rodolph became very popular with female customers who came to the store as soon as he started working. Customers were thrilled to find a Gucci store with a polite and handsome salesman like Rodolph.
Aldo's Roman burial was also a huge success. This is because American and British troops stationed in Rome after the end of the war bought many handicrafts from Gucci, perfect for souvenirs such as leather bags, belts and wallets. Gucci was so booming that production could not keep up with demand. All the craftsmen took charge of the bag from start to finish, and the identification number of the craftsman in charge was put on each bag. If there was a defect, you could tell who made the product.
By the early 1950s, Gucci handbags and travel bags were perceived as stylish. Princess Elizabeth, soon to be crowned Queen of England, also visited a Gucci store in Florence. She also visited the store, including Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of US President Franklin Roosevelt, and Jacqueline Bouvier (Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis), who will marry President Kennedy. Hollywood stars Elizabeth Taylor and Grace Kelly, as well as Betty Davis, Katherine Hepburn, Sophia Loren and Anna Magnani, whom Rodolph used to be friends with as actors, also became regular customers of Gucci.
In 1966 Rodolph, with the help of Italian painter Vittorio Acconero, created the Flora scarf, which became one of Gucci's symbols. There is this story. One day, Grace Kelly, Queen of Monaco, visited a Milan store. Rodolfo greeted her queen and guided her throughout her burial. Rodolph advised them to choose a gift. The queen, who continued to decline, responded to Rodolph's repeated invitations, saying, "Well, then, what about a scarf?"
By chance, I made a Flora scarf for Grace Kelly.
Queen Grace was unaware that Gucci made very few scarves except for a few small squares about 70 cm wide. The scarf he was dealing with had a train or African indigenous pattern that did not suit the queen. Rodolph asked what kind of scarf he wanted to buy time. "I do not know… . How about a floral scarf?” The embarassed Rodolph was witty and quick to respond. He smiled and said: “My Majesty, the scarf we are developing is just that kind. As soon as it is completed, I will deliver it so that the Queen can receive it for the first time.”
Flora patterned blouse (photo source: vogue.co.kr) For this reason, the painter Vittorio Acconero came to design a Flora scarf overflowing with colorful flowers. The Flora design, which was attempted at the time, led to the expansion of Gucci silk products, and has since been applied to clothing, bags, and accessories as well as accessories.
John Kaneer, an authority in the fashion distribution industry who served as vice president and general manager of fashion at Neiman Marcus Department Store, recalled: “A few years after the end of World War II, Italy became a center for quality luxury goods, including handcrafted leather shoes and handbags and delicate gold jewellery. Gucci was one of Europe's first stature brands. People who had not had good possessions for a long time because of the war wanted to show off their economic power and status to their heart's content. It was around that time that I first became aware of the brand Gucci. At the time, people thought that Gucci products offered quality for the price.”
