Gucci began with Guccio Gucci working as a porter at the Savoy Hotel in London, handling wealthy guests' luggage
Guccio Gucci (@gucci) was born in Florence in 1881 and went to London as a young man, where he took a job as a porter at the Savoy Hotel. In 1921 he opened a shop on Via della Vigna Nuova in Florence selling leather luggage. That shop is Gucci, now shown in Milan. Accounts differ on the exact year he arrived at the Savoy, so the late nineteenth century is as close as the record gets.
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01GUCCI BEGAN WITH A TEENAGER FROM FLORENCE CARRYING OTHER PEOPLE'S LUGGAGE AT THE SAVOY HOTEL IN LONDON.
02HIS NAME WAS GUCCIO GUCCI. HE WORKED AS A PORTER AT THE END OF THE 1800S, LOADING AND UNLOADING THE TRUNKS OF WEALTHY GUESTS.
03THE GUESTS WERE WEALTHY AND THEIR LUGGAGE WAS MAGNIFICENT. HE SPENT HIS DAYS HOLDING WHAT THEY TRAVELLED WITH.
04HE WENT HOME TO ITALY, AND IN 1921 HE OPENED HIS OWN SHOP IN FLORENCE. IT SOLD LEATHER LUGGAGE.
05SO THE HOUSE NOW KNOWN FOR LOAFERS, HANDBAGS AND RUNWAY SHOWS STARTED AS A SUITCASE SHOP, RUN BY A FORMER HOTEL PORTER.
06GUCCI HAS NOT FORGOTTEN IT. THE HOUSE SELLS A LINE OF TRUNKS, DUFFELS AND SUITCASES TODAY, AND THE LINE IS CALLED SAVOY.