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WWDMILESTONES / GUCCI AT 90

4 History LessonKey events in Gucci’s history from 1921 to the present.

10 The BuilderPPR’s soft-spoken chief, François-Henri Pinault, continues to expand the luxury house while staying true to its roots.

12 Frida’s Coming of AgeCreative director Frida Giannini discusses her inspirations and evolution.

16 Di Marco’s DirectivePresident and ceo Patrizio di Marco is focused on maintaining brand image.

18 The Polet YearsGucci Group’s ceo based his vision for the company on its core values.

20 Tom & Dom’s ReinventionPulling an ailing designer brand from the ashes has become known as “doing a Gucci.”

24 The Merchant of MilanoMark Lee provides a big boost during his tenure as ceo.

26 Gucci’s World Wide WebSleek, chic, demure, over-the-top sexy. Gucci has covered — and uncovered — it all.

32 For the BoysWhy should girls have all the fun?

34 Logo-a-Go-GoFrom the brand’s inception, bags have been a hallmark.

36 Juiced UpFragrance has been a solid performer in all its incarnations.

38 Get the MessageFrom simple to sultry to celebrity, advertising builds the brand.

46 The Tech BoomGucci has made a priority of hanging out with the right click.

48 Dressing With the StarsCultivating its celebrity relationships has practically been written into the company’s mission statement. Plus, the latest on the brand’s work with Martin Scorsese’s Film Foundation and other charitable efforts, and a collaborative venture with Christie’s auction house.

56 The Horsey SetGucci has been riding high in the saddle for nine decades.

58 Gucci Goes Vroom!A first look at the The Fiat 500 by Gucci. Plus, the house’s Aquariva speedboat sets a standard for cruising the Med.

MORE! WWDMILESTONES, GUCCI AT 90,

IS AVAILABLE AS A FREE APP FOR THE IPAD, AND INCLUDES

EXCLUSIVE BONUS VIDEO MATERIAL AND SLIDESHOWS.

TO DOWNLOAD, VISIT WWD.COM/GUCCIAPP.

“Logo-a-Go-Go,” page 34.

90 years oldForever young

Forever mythicalForever now

An adventure of enterprise

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1881 Guccio Gucci is born in Florence.

1897 He finds work in the Savoy Hotel, London.

1902 He returns to Florence and joins the leather manufacturer Franzi.

1905 to 1912 Sons Aldo, Vasco and Rodolfo are born to Guccio and his wife, Aida.

1921 Guccio opens his first stores in Florence on Via Vigna Nuova and then Via del Parione.

1935 to 1936 As a result of a League of Nations embargo against Italy, Gucci finds alternatives to imported leather and other materials. It develops a specially woven canapa, or hemp, from Naples, printed with the first signature print — a series of small, interconnecting diamonds in dark brown on a tan background. Gucci’s first successful suitcases are made from it.

1938 The Rome store opens on Via Condotti.

1947 to 1948 Production of leather goods resumes after World War II. Aldo Gucci introduces the pigskin, which becomes a signature house material. The first bamboo-handled bag, inspired by the shape of a saddle, is thought to be produced in this period.

1948 Maurizio Gucci is born to Rodolfo and his wife, Alessandra.

1951 Rodolfo opens the first Milan store, on Via Montenapoleone. Around this time, the green-red-green web becomes a hallmark of the company.

1953 Gucci becomes a pioneer of Italian design in the U.S. when Aldo opens the first American store in the Savoy Plaza Hotel on East 58th Street in New York.

Guccio Gucci dies at age 72, 15 days after the New York store opens.

The Gucci loafer with metal horsebit is created.

1955 The house’s crest becomes a registered trademark.

1960 The New York store moves to a Fifth Avenue address next to the St. Regis Hotel at 55th Street.

1961 Stores open in London and Palm Beach.

The bag that Jacqueline Kennedy is seen with is renamed the Jackie. Around this time, the GG logo is applied to canvas and used for bags, small leather goods, luggage and the first pieces of clothing.

1963 The first Paris store opens.

1966 The Flora scarf print is designed for Princess Grace of Monaco.

1968 Gucci opens in Beverly Hills.

1972 A store opens in Tokyo.

Maurizio Gucci, son of Rodolfo, goes to work with his uncle Aldo in New York, until 1982.

Around this time, the brand is hitting its fashion stride. A store dedicated to clothing opens at 699 Fifth Avenue in New York, while 689 Fifth Avenue focuses on shoes, bags, luggage and accessories.

1974 A flagship opens in Hong Kong.

1975 The first fragrance launches.

1981 Ready-to-wear parades for the first time at the Florentine fashion shows at the Sala Bianca, playing heavily on the Flora print.

1982 Gucci gets the legal SpA designation; leadership eventually passes to Rodolfo Gucci.

1985 The iconic loafer is displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and becomes part of the permanent collection.

1989 The Anglo-Arabian holding company Investcorp purchases 50 percent of Gucci shares. The fund lures Dawn Mello, then president of Bergdorf Goodman, to revitalize the brand. She brings Richard Lambertson, head of Bergdorf’s accessories department, to be design director.

1990 American designer Tom Ford is hired to oversee women’s rtw.

1993 Maurizio Gucci transfers his shares to Investcorp, ending the family’s involvement in the firm.

1994 Tom Ford is appointed creative director. His first collection, for fall 1995, focuses on jet-set glamour and is a critical and commercial success, putting the label back at the forefront of fashion.

1995 Domenico De Sole, previously chief executive officer of Gucci America Inc., is appointed Gucci Group’s ceo. He immediately begins reining in licenses, franchises and secondary lines to reverse a decade that saw overexposure of the brand and cheapening of its image.

Maurizio Gucci is gunned down by a hit man commissioned by his ex-wife, Patrizia Reggiani.

1996 to 1997 Ford’s collection of white cutout jersey dresses fastened with abstract horse-bit belts sets the sleek, sexy, modern style of the house’s look in the Nineties and establishes it as a brand dedicated to evening glamour — and consequently attracts hordes of Hollywood actors and actress.

1999 to 2000 The Jackie bag relaunches in many colors and variations, triggering a huge and sustained response. It opens the era of the Gucci “It” bag.

History LessonTriumphs, tragedy, corporate raids, scandal, reinvention and, ultimately, indelible fashion icons characterize nine decades of the Gucci story.

WWDMILESTONES / GUCCI AT 90

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Tom Ford, 1990.

Domenico De Sole, 1995.

The workshop in Florence, 1953.The workshop in Florence, 1953.

Guccio Gucci and his parents.Guccio Gucci and his parents.

Guccio and Rodolfo Gucci in front of the Rome store, 1938.

The Jackie Bag, 1961.

Gucci advertising for its Via Vigna Della Nuova store, 1921.

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The company weathers a hostile takeover bid by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton chief executive Bernard Arnault. It is ultimately saved when white knight François Pinault of strategic investment firm PPR (known as Pinault Printemps Redoute at the time) starts amassing a portfolio of luxury brands.

2002 Frida Giannini, previously handbag designer for Fendi, joins the label’s accessories department, contributing bold reinventions of house signatures as part of Ford’s design team.

2004 Ford and De Sole leave the company when they and parent PPR fail to come to terms over a new contract. John Ray takes over men’s design; Alessandra Facchinetti takes women’s, and Giannini becomes creative director of accessories.

Robert Polet, the head of Unilever’s $7.8 billion frozen-food division, trades ice cream and fish sticks for handbags and stilettos as the new ceo of Gucci Group.

Mark Lee, ceo of PPR-owned Yves Saint Laurent, is named Gucci brand chief.

2005 Giannini is appointed creative director of women’s rtw following her successful relaunch of the Flora print as a bag collection. A year later, she adds the role of creative director for men’s wear.

2006 The company signs a long-term licensing agreement with P&G for the production and worldwide distribution of its fragrances.

The Ginza flagship opens in Tokyo, and the Landmark Hong Kong flagship opens.

2007 The first TV ad campaign runs. It is for the Gucci by Gucci fragrance and is directed by David Lynch.

2008 Gucci opens the New York global flagship in Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue. The company celebrates with an event co-hosted by Giannini and Madonna — “A Night to Benefit Raising Malawi and UNICEF.”

The renovated Rome flagship is reopened. During the celebration for the 70th anniversary of its Roman store, the 2009 cruise collection show is live-streamed on the Web site.

Gucci by Gucci Pour Homme, the first men’s scent created by Giannini, makes its debut with actor James Franco starring in the ad campaign. The house also renews its eyewear licensing deal with Safilo until 2018.

2009 Patrizio di Marco, head of group-owned Bottega Veneta, joins Gucci as president and ceo, succeeding Mark Lee.

Flora by Gucci, Giannini’s second women’s scent, launches and the iconic Jackie bag is given a modern interpretation and dubbed the New Jackie Bag.

Gucci opens its first pop-up shop in New York, selling an exclusive footwear line designed by Mark Ronson. Similar temporary stores will later open in Miami, London and Tokyo.

The label enters the Indian retail market via a joint venture with the holding company of local entrepreneurs Reena and Ashok Wadhwa, taking a controlling 51 percent stake in the new firm.

2010 A sporty, contemporized version of the Bamboo bag, the New Bamboo; the new Gucci 1973 line of bags, and the Gucci by Gucci Sport Pour Homme fragrance and Gucci Guilty women’s scent all launch.

The Singapore Paragon store reopens, and the city-state celebrates Giannini with a special orchid, the Paravanda Frida.

A joint venture in leather goods: GPA, or Gucci Pelletteria Annalisa, is formed. Gucci takes a 51 percent stake while the other 49 percent is held by Jacopo Focardi, owner of Pelletteria Annalisa, near Florence.

The company unveils its renovated digital flagship and launches Gucci Playground, the first iPad app dedicated to children’s wear.

2011 The company prepares to celebrate its 90th anniversary.

WWDMILESTONES / GUCCI AT 90

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Gucci Guilty women’s scent.

Patrizio di Marco

A limited edition Gucci Masters scarf.

The New Bamboo bag, 2010.

The New Jackie bowed in 2009.

The Singapore store.

Fall 2010

Frida Giannini, 2002.Frida Giannini, 2002.

Sophia Loren in Rome, 1966.

Sophia Loren in Rome, 1966.

Gucci’s horsebit loafer was created in 1953.

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GUCCI ON !" VERY FASHIONABLE YEARS.

WWDMILESTONES / GUCCI AT 90

10 WWDSECTION III WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2011

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We found out that the potential of

the brand was even greater

than we could have ever imagined.

— Francois-Henri Pinault

11WWDSECTION III WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2011

By MILES SOCHA

WHEN PPR SWEPT IN as a white knight in a 1999 bid-ding war and took majority control of Gucci Group, it was with the intention of building a luxury conglomer-ate around the powerhouse Italian brand. Indeed, the French retail giant would go on to build on the stable of names that came with the group, including Yves Saint Laurent, Balenciaga, Sergio Rossi and Boucheron.

At the time of the initial foray into fashion, it was a common belief — among analysts and executives alike — that established luxury names were nearing “matu-rity,” spurring important players to build a wider range of brand portfolios to bolster future growth prospects.

François-Henri Pinault, chairman and chief executive officer of the 14.61 billion euro, or $19.39 billion at cur-rent exchange, PPR, says he shared that view at the time but has since witnessed a changed world of burgeoning wealth and luxury aspiration that has lifted Gucci to new heights, shattering any preconceived ideas about any ceiling for the 90-year-old brand.

“We found out that the potential of the brand is even greater than we could have ever imag-ined,” Pinault said during an interview in a small conference room at PPR’s headquarters on the Avenue Hoche in Paris, the walls adorned with art photography. “The Gucci brand is very far from reaching maturity.”

In the 10 years since the acquisition, Gucci’s profitability has improved, at constant ex-change rates, by five points, or roughly 30 per-cent, he noted.

The Gucci brand posted 2010 sales of 2.67 bil-lion euros, or $3.4 billion at average exchange.

An enthusiastic observer of shifting consumer sentiment and economic fluctuations, Pinault said he believes Gucci — which has doubled its size since the initial acquisition — can repeat the feat again, thanks to fast-growing emerging mar-kets such as Mainland China, where Gucci today operates 39 boutiques. He gave no timeline.

“The phenomenon is structural,” said Pinault, explaining how, in a stagnant environment, large luxury players could be obliged to go down-market to increase the size of their businesses. Instead, with wealth increasing across wide swaths of the globe, dominant players have been able to trade up to meet increasingly sophisticat-ed and demanding consumers worldwide.

“I think this brand has in its genes the capacity to continue growing at a very important rate, which was not what we thought at the start,” he said, char-acterizing the goal to double again as “ambitious” and “far from easy” but nevertheless possible.

In tandem with the rise of emerging markets came a need to undo the “uniformity” of luxu-ry that was in vogue in the Nineties, when the sector’s fortunes were tied mainly to developed markets like Western Europe, Japan and the U.S.

Today, store experiences and assortments are tailored to local needs — while keeping a strong brand consistency. This is key, because luxury consum-ers travel the world and visit and compare boutiques, Pinault observed. To wit: Gucci now produces about 1,800 references in handbags every year, all expressing “the same values,” allowing its network to avoid ho-mogenous assortments and address local preferences.

“This brand has in its history all the elements to adapt,” Pinault stressed, referring to its long history of made-in-Italy know-how and a rich archive of iconic design elements, from horse bits and interlocking Gs to a range of signature prints. “That’s something pro-found. It’s something tangible in the luxury world.”

An earnest and thoughtful executive with a warm, open demeanor, Pinault expresses a strong attach-ment to Gucci as an embodiment of Italian style, and he keeps close tabs on the brand strategy. Once a year, he spends a full day with Gucci ceo Patrizio Di Marco at the brand’s Florence headquarters, reviewing the strategy, from product initiatives to communications,

focusing on brand positioning.The most pivotal brand in PPR’s luxury arsenal —

Pinault calls it the “spinal column” of the luxury goods division — Gucci is key to what he calls “soft synergies” — essentially sharing business insights and know-how.

“Gucci, by virtue of its size, its geographic reach and its product range, has explored every territory ahead of other brands and, learning from its errors, made extremely intelligent decisions. Therefore, it’s a very important brand to follow simply to share experi-ences with others,” he explained.

For example, he said Gucci’s Florence workshops — or Bottega Veneta’s near Venice — were at the dis-posal of outgoing YSL ceo Valerie Hermann when she sought to build that French brand’s small leather goods category. All the brands also have at their dis-posal Gucci’s ready-to-wear atelier in Novara, just outside of Milan, for making prototypes — or, in the

case of younger brands like Stella McCartney and Alexander McQueen, for producing their collections.

The group has also centralized logistics and distri-bution into a hub in Cadempino, Switzerland. “Time-to-market with luxury is essential,” Pinault stressed.

Executives at monobrand firms can be isolated. Frederick Lukoff, who joined McCartney in early 2009 after stints at Lanvin and Paco Rabanne, related to Pinault that it’s “like night and day” working within a group. “Here, you pick up the phone, you call another brand and you have an answer in 10 minutes,” Pinault said, quoting Lukoff.

Given its long experience, the Gucci brand has “had many lives,” according to Pinault, and enough histo-ry and brand attributes to see it survive, and thrive, through different eras.

Recalling the times of Tom Ford and Domenico De Sole, Pinault lauded Ford for ramping up the modernity and fashion factor, awakening a sleepy name with pulse-pounding contemporary fashions and his heat-seeking-

missile knack for marketing. “[Gucci] became avant-garde in fashion. It became a brand that dared,” Pinault recalled.

Frida Giannini, who took the sole creative helm in 2005, activated different values of the brand, including its heritage and craftsmanship at a time when consumers began shunning bling. “It was always there; we just reac-tivated it,” Pinault said. “Frida works in a different way.”

Plainly fond of the talent of designers to divine not only colors and shapes but also underlying shifts in mood and aesthetic direction, Pinault broke into a smile as he discussed Giannini’s creative capacity and the Rome-born designer’s complicity with Gucci.

“Frida — she incarnates the Italian values of the brand: sophistication and savoir faire, the lifestyle,” he said. “What’s more, she is not only a real artist, but someone who is very organized.”

He lauded Giannini for her ability to manage the complexity of designing for a global megabrand, able

to exert an “enormous influence” on multiple prod-uct categories and collections and not only the most visible ones that appear on the runway and in ad-vertising campaigns. “She really follows all aspects of the brand, including communications, events, the Internet,” Pinault said.

Yet he is equally impressed with her curiosity and quest for inspirations. He vividly recalls his first lunch with her, then PPR ceo Serge Weinberg and her then design associate Alessandra Facchinetti, at Guy Savoy back in 2003. The two women arrived after a trawl through the famous Saint-Ouen flea market, filling a small truck they piloted themselves with their discov-eries. For Pinault, it was a telling symbol of Giannini’s passion for fashion and design.

“Thanks to the creativity of Frida and being faithful to our heritage, our craftsmanship and the innovation that is inside the brand — if we can be consistent on all this under Frida’s leadership in terms of creativity, well, the brand has a bright future for sure,” Pinault said.

The BuilderPPR’s soft-spoken chief, François-Henri Pinault, continues to expand the luxury house while staying true to its roots.

François-Henri Pinault says growing markets such as China can help double the size of Gucci. Here, the Shanghai flagship. MORE!

TO DOWNLOAD A FREE APP WITH

VIDEOS AND SLIDESHOWS FOR

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00 WWDSTYLE XXXXXXXXX, XXXXXXXX XX, 201112 WWDSECTION III WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2011

By ALESSANDRA ILARI

FRIDA GIANNINI CANDIDLY admits she’s type A, all the way.

Such rigor may not always be associated with the whimsically impromptu fashion world, yet such traits — like being a detail-oriented perfectionist — were a blessing for a designer who in a flicker went from anonymity to stardom.

When Gucci Group announced in February 2006 that the Roman designer was the chosen one to fill Tom Ford’s considerable loafers, the daring move in-evitably raised eyebrows.

Could Giannini, who in only four years went from the house’s handbag designer under Ford to sole cre-ative director — succeeding women’s ready-to-wear designer Alessandra Facchinetti and men’s designer John Ray — cope with the pressure?

The answer was yes, she could, and she did. Even as a rtw neophyte, she exuded a cool and calm aura, taking her new responsibilities in stride and proving to be adept and versatile.

The first thing she did when she set out to create her imprimatur for the multibillion-dollar house was to recruit an international design team, which she now describes as “very consolidated and in symbiosis.”

“I trust [my assistants] very much. Designwise, we speak the same language and our relationship gets richer by the day,” mused Giannini.

Such trust has led her to delegate more than in the past. “I don’t obsess as much over every single key chain and I feel much more mature. In fact, I think that my vision for Gucci grows up season by season to befit a very complex brand, an international brand that still has an Italian soul.”

Each season, the design process is meticulously plotted out to avoid last-minute hysteria over last-minute changes to the runway show lineup, she said.

Frida’s Coming of AgeThe creative director mixes heritage and modernity in making her mark.

I certainly don’t feel I’ve arrived, but I feel stronger and more independent. I’m also more

belligerent than in the past when it comes to defending certain positions or ideas.

— FRIDA GIANNINI

WWDMILESTONES / GUCCI AT 90

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Spring 2009 Spring 2011

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CONGRATULATIONS GUCCI ON YOUR 90TH ANNIVERSARY

Gucci has been a valued global partner to UNICEF since 2005, committing $9 million in only six years for UNICEF’s lifesaving programs. Gucci’s contribu-tions have helped orphans and children affected by HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa and now support UNICEF’s “Schools for Africa” initiative, which aims to increase access to quality basic education for millions of children.

UNICEF has saved more children’s lives than any other humanitarian organiza-tion in the world — but this wouldn’t be possible without partners like Gucci.

Thank you, Gucci, and thank you, FRIDA GIANNINI, UNICEF’s 2011 Woman of Compassion. Your leadership, dedication, and generosity have truly given untold numbers of children the gift of a better future.

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“I could never put everything together in three days like some of my colleagues do. Sure, we may change a few looks or add some colors, but nothing major.”

Six years later, on the eve of the brand’s 90th anniversary celebration, prac-tice has perfected her method and vision, and her collections demonstrate a more grown-up confidence and style.

“I certainly don’t feel I’ve arrived, but I feel stronger and more independent. I’m also more belligerent than in the past when it comes to defending certain positions or ideas,” she said.

And, with a laugh, she noted that she doesn’t get butterflies in her stomach any-more before conducting an interview in English, or when meeting a top editor.

Fashionwise, Giannini’s early penchant for waxing the classic with excessive doses of attention-getting, high-gloss sexiness has morphed into a gentler and less conspicuous aesthetic. But it’s still sexy.

In the mid 2000s, when luxe was all about excess and glitz, Giannini went to town with bling, piling on embellishments and steaming things to the max.

Today, her designs are more discreet, allowing for labor-intensive craftsmanship to do the talking.

“As I was finding my footing, the first collections were a bit of a shot in the dark because as much as I loved Tom, I needed to break away from [his fashion] so as not to look ridiculous. I needed to invent a new language, which is something you build day by day, not overnight,” she stressed.

Since 2006, rtw sales advanced 17 percent, totaling 308 million euros, or $419 million at average exchange, in 2009, a figure that represents 13.6 percent of Gucci’s total revenues of 2.26 billion euros, or $3.07 billion, for the same period. In 2010, rtw accounted for 13 percent, or 345 million euros, or $459 million, of the brand’s sales.

“After experimenting with fashion’s many facets and drawing inspiration from David Bowie to Russia, I feel that over the past couple of years I have synthesized, edited and cleaned up my act.”

Indeed, the current fall and the upcoming spring collections were palate cleans-ers, with less flash and more controlled elegance, sprinkled rather than drenched with seduction and details.

Sporting a gray windowpane blazer over a sequined T-shirt and black leather stovepipe pants over sky-high heels, Giannini epitomizes the classic-cum-sexy for-mula she champions.

But what is sexy for Giannini?“A state of mind.…More than an outfit, sexiness is something that you have with-

in, that you exude by the way you talk, move your hand — but sexiness without a strong personality isn’t possible.

“I’m very happy when I see someone who is sexy and self-confident in a room with thousands of people, possibly wearing or carrying a Gucci item,”she said.

In retrospect, she also admits that some of the tougher reviews and criticism, particularly with her earlier efforts, turned out to be food for thought. “Today, I understand and better appreciate the criticism for certain shows or for my lack of consistency. I wanted to experiment and it didn’t always work,” she said.

She cited the David Bowie, Seventies-driven lineup for fall 2006 as her least favorite collection, while the upcoming spring season is her most favored.

Being on the sets of the ad campaigns also proved an effective way to portray the season’s big-picture mood.

“In the beginning, I wouldn’t go. But work-ing with top directors like David Lynch, actors like James Franco and top photographers and models has been very useful,” Giannini explained. “The ad campaign is when you put all the categories together to cre-ate a story, a vision for the sea-son. It’s like putting a hat on the creative side of the various cat-egories.”

Vintage fashion, film, music (though she claims she’s still waiting for a new generation of trendsetters like Mick Jagger or Bowie) and heritage continue to spark her creativity.

Giannini, in fact, has never shied from sharing how inspira-tional the label’s own past has been to her.

“If I were to ignore Gucci’s great past and ar-chives, I would be presumptuous and hypocriti-cal. There is still so much to learn.

“The designer of the Gucci house has to share with its audience the huge respect toward the brand’s history and past. I was so fascinated the first time I visited the archives, which are full of incredible objects, and it’s great fun to bring them back to new life.”

Her last two collections were infused with the iconic elegance and sensuality that char-acterized Gucci in the Sixties and Seventies, when the brand made its international leap and became a favorite of the rich and famous like Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn, Sophia Loren and Anita Ekberg, and, of course, Jackie Kennedy, for whom a Gucci handbag is named.

Giannini revisited the Diamante pattern for the fall season, a graphic diamond-shaped motif that hearkens back to the Thirties and that preceded the double-G logo. As for the latter, Giannini devised a new version of the

1973 classic design for fall: two gold, curvilinear interlocking Gs. “I think the work that I am doing to try to create a strong balance between what

is our rich heritage and what is the future and innovation is very important,” she said. “At the same time, it’s intriguing to work with new technologies, suppliers and new media. We’re living in an exciting moment, not only for fashion and creativity but also in terms of communication.”

She also brushes aside any disdain for commercial clout held by many fashion purists.

“What’s wrong with commercial when we’re not talking mass market but about a collection that sells out?”

The notion of catwalk-only pieces isn’t one she cares for, stressing that even the wildest design that struts down her run-way goes into production, albeit in small quantities and for key flagships.

As much as she’s a clever multitasker, accessories have re-mained Giannini’s favorite category.

For her first solo effort in 2004, she designed the Flora bag, culling a Sixties floral print designed for Grace Kelly from the Gucci archives. Other achievements are the La Pelle Guccissima line, etched with the double-G logo, and matte crocodile bags.

When she introduced the New Jackie for spring 2009, a ren-dition of the house’s renowned statement bag, it was a first step

toward the new heritage course in prerecession times.“The fact that times were changing was already starting to register, but when

the financial crisis burst, working on a more timeless wardrobe became manda-tory,” said Giannini.

In a move to extend to another audience layer, last year the company launched children’s wear.

“Of the various new categories, it’s the most fun,” she said. “I love designing for these adorable gnomes and ironically, we also managed to pluck a few looks, such as cute little trench, a fur vest and a baby tuxedo, that we reworked for adults.”

Gucci also recently launched an international ad campaign called Forever Now aimed at capturing the brand’s heritage and the future as it gets set to mark its 90th anniversary.

The first one, for fall, is comprised of two black-and-white images from the Fifties taken inside the house’s Florentine factory on Via delle Caldaie. Plucked from the archive, the photos portray apron-clad workers painstakingly lopping hides, with swatches of leathers hanging from the wall or under a vaulted ceiling.

This house certainly has a remarkable and enviable past, one that especially in more recent times has been safeguarded, exalted and catapulted into the future.

So how does Giannini see the next decade? “It’s tough to say, but I think Gucci will be stronger especially because we’re

tackling emerging new markets in Asia, South America and India, while China is a reality,” she said, but most importantly, what will continue to fuel its growth is that “I’m in love with this brand, and that’s something that’s never going to stop.”

STARSTRUCK“THE WORLD OF CELEBRITIES is a strange one, but also very important for designers because we’re always looking for new collaborations and celebrities are looking for us,” noted Frida Giannini.

So, to better tend to red-carpet whims and needs, the Italian luxury brand stepped into the rarefied world of haute couture in May 2010 with Gucci Première, offering celebs one-of-a-kind gowns.

“We frequently received requests from celebrities, actresses and singers, and it was very difficult because, of course, Gucci is a ready-to-wear brand,” Giannini said. “Celebrities and their stylists are very demanding and they ask for many things — sometimes at the last minute — which our factories couldn’t necessarily produce in only a few days.

“Previously, we were up against top couture names — Dior, Chanel, Armani — and while our designs were very much appreciated, our finishes weren’t necessarily up to standard.”

This new undertaking offers a capsule collection that Giannini renews twice a year with additional bespoke gowns on request. Gucci is working with seamstresses, embroiderers and other craftspeople in Paris, the capital of couture, to execute the designs.

A runway show, however, isn’t currently on the radar. A true movie connoisseur, Giannini tells of how,

inspirationwise, she still gravitates toward silver screen icons from the Forties to the Seventies. The long list includes Claudia Cardinale, Alain Delon, Audrey Hepburn (as Holly Golightly), Joan Crawford, Greta Garbo and Katharine Hepburn.

Furthermore, growing up in Rome, home to the Cinecittà studios, the influence of classic movies from such Italian directors as Vittorio De Sica, as well as actors like Vittorio Gassman and Marcello Mastroianni, has been invigorating.

“I have very strong memories of movies from [Michelangelo] Antonioni with Monica Vitti, Silvana Mangano in ‘Bitter Rice’ or Fellini, of course, for all his incredible creativity,” she noted in Cannes last May, when Gucci Première launched. “So I have a lot of images always in front of me and in my memories.”

She acknowledged she’s more lukewarm about today’s stars, many of whom lack a strong fashion identity — they’re too dependant on stylists, who in turn dress too many clients.

“Once actresses used to be much more faithful to a designer,” she reflected. “Today, it’s a different story — and in all honesty, I’m still waiting for a new David Bowie or Mick Jagger to come along.” — A.I.

Kate Beckinsale wears Gucci Première at the 3rd Annual Cannes Film Festival in 2010.

WWDMILESTONES / GUCCI AT 90

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Fall 2009

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GUCCI

CONGRATULATIONS ON

90 YEARS OF

LEADING THE WAY

By LUISA ZARGANI

“TO GIVE GUCCI A CHANCE to be Gucci,” is an ex-pression Patrizio di Marco likes, and one he believes hits the mark.

In the two years since his appointment as presi-dent and chief executive officer of the label, di Marco’s objective has been to “fine-tune a clear brand positioning.”

He has said, historically, that Gucci has always of-fered a wide range of products in different colors and materials while maintaining its exclusivity. He con-tends that this focus grew blurry a few years ago, when financial pressures became a priority, and too many pieces at opening price points flooded the market.

“The same style was multiplied in too many ways, which shortened its shelf life and confused the customer,” said di Marco. “We’ve been reducing and focusing the offer, while maintaining a more balanced variety.”

The outspoken and personable executive has been instrumental in highlighting the handmade crafts-manship of the company, and credits creative direc-tor Frida Giannini for recovering archival gems and making them contemporary.

The partnership has been a successful one, de-spite the “very difficult 18 months from the second half of 2008 — the worst period this sector has ever lived,” he said. Indeed, in an upbeat interview at his Milan office, the executive said the company closed 2010 on a positive note. Last year, Gucci reported sales of 2.6 billion euros, or $3.4 billion at average exchange, up more than 17 percent, compared with 2.2 billion euros, or $3 billion, the year before.

Di Marco partly attributed the positive data to the fact that Gucci “faced the year as if we had been in war, with a mentality in line with that of 2009, pay-ing attention to costs and efficiency.” However, he remained cautious, stressing “maintenance of these ways as a mental attitude in both good and bad times and to continue to be flexible.”

The reason? “Structurally, the sector and the mar-ket have changed. Customers are slightly less wor-ried, but they don’t have the same attitude they had precrisis and I don’t think that carefree spirit will come back,” said di Marco.

Surrounded by black-and-white photos of past Hollywood and Cinecittà icons, from Anita Ekberg at the time of “La Dolce Vita” to Peter Sellers, the executive speaks of the brand’s growing legion of as-pirational customers.

“Gucci does Gucci,” is another Di Marco mantra. Going back to the company’s roots, its jet-set glamour, its aura of exclusivity is a must for di Marco.

“Gucci refers to itself, but in a current way, as a brand cannot live in the past,” he remarked. With its artisans traveling to shops to demonstrate the mak-ing of accessories, or its Forever Now ad campaigns highlighting the continuity of tradition, Gucci’s com-munication has recently hinged on heritage and qual-ity. As a consequence, di Marco said the company has seen “a return of sophisticated customers, and they return to stay, which is the biggest compliment.”

Di Marco also underscored the size of the group, which rarely coincides with traditional craftsmanship.

“This is an enormous company that works as if it were an artisanal one. And not only are we artisans, but fashion makers and trendsetters at the same time, and we offer a lifestyle brand,” he noted.

To further illustrate such history, Gucci is gear-ing up to open its own museum in the fall, located in Florence’s iconic Piazza della Signoria, in Gucci’s former design offices. Di Marco envisions a dynamic and cultural location, with a bookstore and a cafe.

“We are proud of our history, and this is for Florence, for our staff, for those who are interested in design and the history of costume, and for those who love Gucci,” he said.

The company is also focused on its e-commerce

site, which di Marco said was “Gucci’s second-largest store in the world” in terms of revenues in the U.S. in December. “We have ambitious plans for e-tailing,” he said, noting that Gucci will launch in Korea at the end of February.

Close to di Marco’s heart is also the yearly talent search dubbed the Gucci Heritage Program.

“The participants will be matched with managers based on their skills and interests — one is already

working with me — and can become part of the next generation of leaders within Gucci,” he said.

Participants go through a formal training pro-gram and have an experience in one of Gucci’s flag-ships globally.

“The strength of a company is in its people,” said di Marco. “From the very beginning, people with a great passion, know-how and tenacity have been the most important asset.”

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Di Marco’s DirectiveThe ceo’s eye is keenly focused on maintaining the brand’s image.

Gucci president and chief executive officer Patrizio di Marco.

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fiat.com gucci.com

By MILES SOCHA

GUCCI GROUP PRESIDENT and chief execu-tive officer Robert Polet, who is exiting the con-glomerate as of March 1, achieved much of what he set out to do when he made the transition from ice cream to luxury goods seven years ago.

“We have not been diverted from our plan set out in 2004, and I am delighted we have achieved most of the goals we set out to realize,” he said. “Gucci has grown significantly and strongly.”

Throughout his tenure, he demonstrated a fist-pumping enthusiasm for the group’s flagship brand, from one of its early ad slogans — “Quality is remembered long after price is forgotten” — to its current remarkable growth in China.

To be sure, the Italian brand has rarely wob-bled under his watch, and now accounts for some 66 percent of group revenues, up from 60 percent in fiscal 2003.

“Change is part of business,” Polet said of his exit from Gucci Group, now to be known as PPR’s Luxury Business Group, with the largest brands — including Gucci — overseen directly by PPR chairman and ceo François-Henri Pinault.

“These last seven years have been the most rewarding and exciting of my professional life,” Polet said, hastening to add with a raised finger, “so far.”

He has yet to define his next career move, but said: “What I do know is that I will contin-ue to be active where brands, creativity, inno-vation and people intersect.”

An affable executive with a firm handshake and a gleaming smile, the former Unilever fro-zen-foods ceo has a reputation as a charismatic coach with an infectious positive streak.

Given how pivotal Gucci is to the group’s for-tunes, Polet said he worked “more regularly” during his tenure with its ceo, Patrizio di Marco, than any other brand head. The two men shared all “key strategic decisions,” and Polet said he cross-pollinated best practices across brands ranging from Yves Saint Laurent and Sergio Rossi to Boucheron and Stella McCartney.

“Being the largest brand, Gucci can offer great per-spective to the smaller brands. But equally, Gucci can learn just as much from the smaller brands,” Polet said. “Given its heritage and scale, Gucci offers other labels insights into branding and product development, excel-lence in retail and consumer understanding and man-agement processes. There is little that a brand of Gucci’s

heritage has not seen or experienced in its history and this is, of course, a great benefit to our portfolio.”

Polet noted Gucci’s “dual soul” — heritage and craftsmanship on one side, fashion innovation on the other — is reflected in the brands’ employees, “who are distinguished by a very strong pride of belonging, passion for challenges and indefatigable resilience to whatever may happen.”

Polet could not have anticipated the financial cri-sis that slammed the luxury sector in 2008-09, yet he

credited Gucci’s deep roots for helping to shield it from the brunt.

“We have seen that the larger luxury goods brands with heritage and resonance have proved resilient to the economic climate,” he explained. “A brand like Gucci cannot betray its patrons and must stay loyal to its core and long-term values while continuing to build meaning-ful relationships with is clientele. [It achieves this] through special focus on the customer ex-perience of the brand — this is long-term strat-egy, not short-term reactive actions.”

That said, Gucci used the opportunity to fine-tune its assortments, price positioning and the “customer experience of the brand.”

Likening strong labels to living organisms thatevolve “to stay relevant and contemporary over time,” Polet said Gucci’s ongoing reinvention involves anticipating its customers’ desires and needs, while collections must be “at the forefront of innovation and glamour, but remain connectedwith the real world and how society evolves.…I do not mean to disregard the past — our heritage is who we are and how we innovate.”

During Polet’s tenure, Gucci rode the wave of strong growth in Asia, particularly in Mainland China. He noted that Gucci entered China with two stores in 1997, and ended 2004 with four lo-cations. As of yearend, the network reached 39 directly operated stores in Mainland China, plus nine in Hong Kong and three in Macao.

“China is no longer an emerging market for Gucci and is the most important market in termsof size, development and growth potential even in the medium-long term,” he said. In the medi-um-term, he said he was positive on Brazil-Latin America and India as emerging markets.

Not that it should sway the brand’s vision.“Gucci will not shift its vision to cater to newly

rich nations,” he said. “It is our core values that make us appealing to people and the reason they want to be associated with us. We have to be in tune with the cultures and communities where we

are present, but always based on our core values.”The executive has long been of the opinion that

Gucci should live on forever, but his inner coach emerg-es to ensure vigilance in its quest. “We must never be complacent about our success and achievements. If we do, we will lose our edge. We must never forget that we are all still learning, still improving, and we must con-tinue to do this in our work,” he said. “I think that the people at Gucci understand this.”

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LUXURY LOVES COMPANY — and Gucci has plenty.Following a period of rapid growth in the Nineties, which

saw its revenues rush past the $1 billion threshold in 1998, the Italian brand began constructing what would become the world’s third-largest luxury conglomerate.

Once PPR was invited to take a controlling stake in Gucci and thereby fend off a hostile takeover attempt by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, it injected $3 billion into the Italian brand to help fund an acquisitions drive.

The first name on the shopping list was Yves Saint Laurent.Having catapulted Gucci into the big leagues with runway

heat and operational muscle, then-brand stewards Tom Ford and Domenico De Sole set out to pull off at YSL what became industry shorthand for brand rejuvenation: “do a Gucci.”

“We want this company to be as financially successful as Gucci,” De Sole touted at the time.

Ford, anointed Gucci Group’s creative director, took up the design helm of YSL, while one of De Sole’s key deputies and rising stars, Mark Lee, was handed the management reins. In addition, Chantal Roos was recruited to rejoin YSL Beauté, where she had engineered the blockbuster launch of Opium.

Ford created fashion fireworks and marched the brand into leather goods; Lee made 150 licenses do a

disappearing act and built what he billed as a “world-class” retail network, a radical and expensive strategy that drove the mythic French house deeply into the red.

Six months after Ford and De Sole exited in 2004, Lee moved over to the Gucci brand. Since then, designer Stefano Pilati and chief executive officer Valérie Hermann — who will step down this spring to become president and ceo of Reed Krakoff — have focused on building sales via product expansion to support the cost structure of its boutiques. The company reached breakeven in 2008, aided by such hit leather goods as Tribute shoes and Downtown and Muse handbags.

Signaling a new phase of “focused expansion,” YSL last year unveiled plans to open a 10,000-square-foot flagship on Avenue Montaigne, Paris’ premier luxury street, in 2012.

After digesting YSL — along with a 70 percent stake in Italian footwear firm Sergio Rossi — the year 2000 saw a slew of acquisitions that would ultimately form Gucci Group’s “other brands” stable — and see it invest in new designer names alongside European heritage labels. The investments included majority stakes in English fashion house Alexander McQueen, French jeweler Boucheron and Geneva-based watch brand Bedat & Co.

The spending continued into the following year. Gucci Group landed a legendary brand, and a red-hot designer, when it sealed a deal to acquire Balenciaga, giving Nicolas

Ghesquière a 9 percent stake. It also formed a 50-50 joint venture with Stella McCartney to build her famous name into a global brand alongside her hip and cheeky take on fashion (minus leather goods, given her staunch animal-rights principles).

Finally, it acquired Bottega Veneta, a specialist in luxury leather goods that quickly became a second powerhouse within the group, expanding into ready-to-wear, jewelry and a home line.

In 2010, Bottega’s sales totaled 510 million euros, or $678 million, up 27 percent, while sales at YSL rose 13 percent to 269 million euros, or $358 million. Revenues at other brands increased nearly 17 percent to 564 million euros, or $750 million. Dollar figures are calculated at average exchange rates for the year.

The Gucci Group division accounted for 58 percent of PPR’s profits in fiscal 2010. Last year, net earnings rose nearly 30 percent to 897 million euros, or $1.19 billion, on revenues of 4 billion euros, or $5.32 billion, up 18.3 percent.

Gucci Group has trimmed its luxury portfolio in recent years. In 2008, L’Oréal paid PPR 1.15 billion euros, or $1.56 billion at current exchange, for YSL Beauté Holding, including its Roger & Gallet subsidiary. And in 2009, Gucci sold Bedat to Malaysia-based Luxury Concepts Watches & Jewelry.

— M.S.

THE GROUP DYNAMIC

Happy Birthday Gucci !Celebrating ninety years of unparalleled style.

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By SAMANTHA CONTI

THEY BEGAN WORKING for Gucci on two different continents, one in the U.S. and the other in Italy. One landed at the company by chance — and with zero background in fashion — while the other, an unknown designer, was drafted to help two very high-profile retailers breathe new life into an ail-ing brand. When they began their ca-reers at the struggling Italian house, Domenico De Sole and Tom Ford could never have imagined the worldwide fame, multimillion-dollar fortunes — and epic headaches and triumphs — that Gucci would give them during their nine years at the company’s helm.

De Sole, an Italian-born, Washington lawyer, became chairman and chief executive officer of Gucci America in 1984, and a little more than a decade later was named ceo of the company — the same year it went public.

Ford, meanwhile, was hired in 1990 to oversee women’s ready-to-wear by Dawn Mello, former presi-dent of Bergdorf Goodman. (Mello had brought in Richard Lambertson, head of Bergdorf ’s accessories department,

to be design director.) Ford was named creative director in 1994.

In a 2004 interview, the day he left Gucci for good, De Sole told WWD his expectations were never that grand.

“Back in 1993, Gucci had worldwide sales of $198 million, and I thought I could get them up to $350 million,” he recalled. “Beyond that, I didn’t know. I also didn’t know the great job that Tom was going to do. I think we caught everybody by surprise — our model worked.”

When De Sole departed, revenues for all of Gucci Group — which by then had expanded to include brands such as Yves Saint Laurent, Balenciaga and Bottega Veneta — were more than $3 billion.

At the start, it was De Sole who was the driving force behind what would become the Tom and Dom dream team. In 1993, the company was losing money and auditors were recommend-ing the liquidation of the label’s assets. Maurizio Gucci, who then owned half the company with Investcorp, asked De Sole to fire the design staff, including Ford, but the manager refused.

“The company was stagnant and

falling apart. I thought Tom was very talented, and we needed a strong de-signer,” De Sole told WWD in 2000.

After that, the two became friends and allies in what would become a history-making war with LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton.

“I would trust my life with Domenico, and I believe he feels the same way about me. He’s a great man and a great friend,” said Ford in 2000.

De Sole has said of Ford: “Creativity is creativity, and talent can be found in any country, but it’s not easy to find a creative mind and a businessman in one person. Tom is an ideal partner.”

With a strong-willed, commercially minded and charismatic designer by his side, De Sole set about building a new business model: No more licenses, fran-chises or secondary lines for the com-pany, whose merchandise had become overexposed and cheapened during the previous decade. In the meantime, Ford’s glamorous runway shows, with their cinematic feel and overt sexuality, had begun to rock a fashion world ac-customed to watching utilitarian styles, shades of gray and pale, androgynous

Tom & Dom’s ReinventionPulling an ailing designer brand

from the ashes has become known as “doing a Gucci.”

Tom Ford and Domenico De Sole at their final show in 2004.

Fall 2005

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THE FILM FOUNDATIONSALUTES GUCCI ON ITS 90TH ANNIVERSARY AND CELEBRATES OUR LONG-STANDING PARTNERSHIP AND SHARED COMMITMENT TO PRESERVING MOTION PICTURE HISTORYFOR FUTURE GENERATIONS. WWW.FILM-FOUNDATION.ORG© Cineteca di Bologna/Reporters Association

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models stalking the runways.The momentum grew rapidly: By 1998, sales

had broken through the billion-dollar barrier on the back of Ford’s sexy designs — liquid evening gowns, low-slung necklines and brightly colored fur chubbies — and newly tweaked classics, such as the Jackie bag, stiletto loafer, double-G logo and green-red-green Gucci web, which sprouted all over clothing and accessories. In those years, Gucci began rolling out stores worldwide and introducing a new concept: “modern, lean and sexy,” in the words of Ford. He designed these new-concept stores with ar-chitect William Sofield. In an unusual move for a designer at the time, Ford was directly involved in every aspect of the Gucci business.

De Sole and Ford had become architects of the ultimate luxury brand revival — with legions of other heritage brands, including Burberry, wanting to “do a Gucci” — but the executives were about to pay the price for their hard work.

Gucci’s direct competitors wanted a slice of the success: On a summer weekend in 1998, Prada revealed that it had taken a 9.5 percent stake in Gucci. Between June 1998 and February 1999, the eagle-eyed Bernard Arnault began to amass Gucci shares, eventually building up a stake of 34.4 per-cent through a series of transactions.

De Sole and Ford cried foul, igniting what was one of the most dramatic corporate fash-

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A bag full of wishes.

Happy 90th!

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Mark Lee: Merchant of MilanoA BORN MERCHANT and one of the industry’s most admired executives, Mark Lee will be recalled for his time at Gucci as the unassuming American who boosted revenues 46 percent dur-ing his four-year tenure — and for his abrupt departure shortly after the cred-it crunch hit.

A key protégé of former Gucci chief executive officer Domenico De Sole’s, Lee was named president of Yves Saint Laurent in November 1999, where he championed the promotion of one of Tom Ford’s design deputies, Stefano Pilati, to pilot the French house.

In 2004, six months after De Sole and Ford bid farewell to the company, Lee took the helm of Gucci, replacing Giacomo Santucci. He was instrumental in promoting Frida Giannini, who had been part of a trio of designers in the wake of Ford’s exit, to the brand’s sole creative director overseeing all product categories. Giannini previously oversaw only accessories.

“Mark has constantly supported and respected my creativity and this has al-ways been vital to me,” Giannini told WWD following Lee’s departure from the company in 2008.

Lee, who last summer was named ceo of Barneys New York, declined a request to be interviewed for this story.

In the face of a lukewarm reception from the fashion press, Lee supported Giannini’s creative vision and the many new projects she took on, such as La Pelle Guccissima, a high-priced line of leather accessories embossed with the Gucci logo. The collection was aimed at raising the quality bar as an alternative to logo canvas bags and helped keep counterfeiters at bay.

A slim and unassuming man, Lee has

always been considered a strong mer-chant and a dynamic leader with a tight grasp on all aspects of his business. He is known to be in touch with his staff 24/7 via BlackBerry, regardless of the time zone, and does not shy away from micromanaging his businesses.

“He’s not just a merchant, but a very, very capable manager, a hard-nosed manager who understands finances as well as sales,” said De Sole last month. “And he has a great understanding of luxury goods.”

Lee and Giannini developed accesso-ries-only ad campaigns, as well as ones dedicated to fine jewelry that for the first time for the brand featured a celeb-rity (Drew Barrymore was first, in 2007).

They also created a charity program with UNICEF to support orphans in Africa who lost their parents to HIV. Each year, a line of more mass-market driven products is developed for this ongoing project.

The duo was active in boosting the brand’s lifestyle concept, and new stores were conceived to accommodate Gucci’s fast-growing categories such as timepieces, fine jewelry and eyewear.

Lee orchestrated a new store con-cept in the post-Ford era that was un-veiled in Hong Kong and Tokyo. James Carpenter, an architect who built his reputation on glass and how it inter-sects with light, designed the multifac-eted exteriors of the eight-story Ginza Tower in the Japanese capital. The interiors were developed by William Sofield, the architect who translated Ford’s viewpoint into the brand’s new store design in the Nineties.

Born and raised in San Francisco, Lee began his fashion career at Saks Fifth Avenue in 1984 as an assistant buyer of

European designer collections. He went on to work for Cidat USA, the firm that handled American distribution of some Valentino lines, before joining Giorgio Armani for a five-year stint, rising to com-mercial director of its U.S. arm.

After that, he worked at Jil Sander America Inc. as managing director be-fore joining Gucci in 1996 as worldwide director of the ready-to-wear business.

He was named president of Yves Saint Laurent in 1999, and spearheaded a radical — and costly — overhaul of the French fashion house. He employed De Sole’s famous direct-control strategy for production and distribution, terminat-ing more than 150 licensing pacts and setting out to build a global network of boutiques.

Lee left — abruptly — at the end of 2008, as the worldwide economic crisis was gaining momentum. Gucci’s first-quarter sales had fallen 3.3 percent ear-lier that year, due to tough conditions in the U.S. and Europe and the impact of currency exchange, and the company made no secret that it was unhappy with the results, although sales growth began to pick up later that year.

Insiders say that during his tenure, Lee was under intense pressure to gen-erate cash for PPR, which had paid $3 billion for its stake in Gucci, the cash cow of the group.

Lee characterized the nonrenewal of his contract as a “personal decision to rebalance my life” and to spend more time in New York. “My life has been three or four countries a week,” he said at the time. “I’ve lived a fantastic life-time of all the evolutions of Gucci and Gucci Group.”

— SAMANTHA CONTI AND MILES SOCHA

ion battles of the 20th century. Gucci accused LVMH — which by then had swallowed up Prada’s stake in the company — of wanting to take “creeping control” without launching a full and fair bid to shareholders. That move would have been perfectly legal in the Netherlands, where Gucci was listed.

The two companies fought bitterly in the Dutch courts — and in the international press — and swapped lawsuits and vitriol on an almost daily basis. At one point, Arnault tried to drive a wedge between De Sole and Ford, publicly courting the designer and quietly undermining De Sole’s authority at every turn.

“Naturally, we can give suggestions to improve some things, to remind management of the ties that can be forged between us,” Arnault told Italy’s Corriere della Sera during the battle. “But it will be up to them to decide.”

In those stressful, sleepless months, De Sole chan-neled Clint Eastwood’s Dirty Harry Callahan: “Make my day” became his mantra, and he would often refer to his adversaries as “pathological liars.”

The drama reached a climax when Gucci found its white knight in PPR, then known as Pinault-Printemps-Redoute. The retailer paid $2.9 billion for 40 percent of Gucci, and, thanks to a new share issue, LVMH’s stake was diluted to 21 percent.

The battle was won, but the war with LVMH was far from over: More lawsuits ensued following PPR’s purchase, and LVMH finally forced its French rival to launch a full and fair takeover of Gucci, which it did on Sept. 10, 2001. Ultimately, PPR won full control over Gucci. This led to tension between the new management and Ford and De Sole, who eventually left the company after trying — and fail-ing — to strike a deal for management, financial and creative independence.

In the ensuing years, De Sole and Ford shifted

their focus: Gucci morphed into Gucci Group, and the two set about spending the $2.9 billion from the PPR deal. In less than three years, they bought Yves Saint Laurent, Balenciaga, Bottega Veneta, Alexander McQueen, Stella McCartney, Boucheron and Bedat.

In those years, Ford and De Sole became celebri-ties in their own right, appearing in a sexy, moody print ad for American Express shot in Venice, and living multi-millionaire lifestyles with homes on both sides of the Atlantic — Ford would unwind on his 24,000-acre ranch outside Santa Fe, N.M., while De Sole wintered on Aspen’s slopes and vacationed on his sailboat — as they worked feverishly to build up the group.

And, while De Sole and Ford were becoming two of the most powerful men in fashion with their nou-veau empire, De Sole would later express some re-gret about the pace of the acquisitions.

“Gucci went too quickly from one brand and one cul-ture to a multibrand group. It would have been better had we made the acquisitions over a 10-year period,” he said. “But it was very quick, and then we had Sept. 11, 2001, and other problems. I think the brands we ac-quired were great. I just wish we had had more time.

“In addition, in just a few months, we went from producing clothing for Gucci to producing for Gucci, YSL, McQueen and Balenciaga. The technical and operational aspects of building the brand portfolio were ferocious. We could have even used more time finding the management talent,” he told WWD the day he and Ford exited the house. “We parted com-pany in a very civilized way.”

Their legacy, De Sole has said, was twofold: “We took care of our shareholders. Everybody who in-vested in Gucci made money — and that’s the goal and task of every manager. I feel like I can say ‘mis-sion accomplished.’ And I think we gave the industry a new model: The balance between Tom and me, the creative and business side.”

Fall 2006

Mark Lee in 2005, at

Gucci’s spring 2006 show.

Mark Lee in 2005, at

Gucci’s spring 2006 show.

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HappyAnniversary

DARIA WERBOW Y, PHOTOGR APHED BY PATRICK DEMARCHELIER, VOGUE, JANUARY 2010.

VOGUE CELEBRATES THE 90 YEARSGUCCI HAS STRETCHED OUR IMAGINATIONWITH ITS SENSUAL SENSE OF GLAMOUR.

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Spring 1998

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Sleek, chic, demure, over-the-top sexy. Gucci has covered — and uncovered — it all since apparel was introduced in the Sixties. Here are some highlights.

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990099NEXT 90 YEARS!

In 1977, Dr. Aldo Gucci (accompanied by his attorney, Mr. Domenico De Sole) selected Bal Harbour Shops as the site of Gucci’s fi rst boutique in a shopping center and only the company’s fi fth store in the United States.

Bal Harbour Shops is proud of its nearly 35-year association with this storied and iconic brand and extends its congratulations to Gucci on its milestone 90-year anniversary.

– Stanley, Randy, Matthew and all of us at

HERE’S TO THE

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For the BoysWhy should girls have all the fun?

By KATYA FOREMAN

GUCCI’S HISTORY of men’s wear can almost be traced by looking at pho-tos of Hollywood stars. From Clark Gable and John Wayne in the early years, when the house’s sole business was leather goods — specifically lug-gage — to the likes of Ben Affleck, Javier Bardem, Robert Pattinson and Mark Ronson today, Gucci has amassed its fair share of high-wattage male ce-lebrity followers. And they have served as unofficial ambassadors, long before every red-caret bauble was chronicled and analyzed.

The house produced a swath of rug-ged technical products from its earliest days, including hunting and horse-rid-ing gear, vests, gun cases and golf bags.

Famous fans of the house’s iconic horsebit moccasins have included Dustin Hoffman, Francis Ford Coppola, Henry Fonda and Roger Moore, while during the Seventies, stars includ-ing Peter Sellers, Samuel Beckett, Yul Brynner, Ringo Starr and Rod Stewart were photographed toting Gucci lug-gage through airports around the world.

With such high-profile acceptance from the movie community, Gucci launched apparel for men in the mid-Sixties, about the same time as women’s wear started to appear.

All-time men’s bestsellers for the house include the horsebit moccasins, the Half Moon bag and duffel bags with the green-red-green web, as well as evening- wear and the classic overcoat.

Here, WWD highlights some key product launches and events related to the Gucci man.1921: Gucci is founded, and builds its brand as a leather specialist, making products for the modern traveler — spe-cifically trunks.1940s: The company starts fine-tun-ing and adding to its selections, and launches men’s wallets.1953: The creation of the horsebit moccasin.

Mid-1950s: Gucci introduces its green-red-green duffle bag, which goes on to become a best-selling accessory coveted by celebrities.1959: The Half Moon bag is introduced and becomes an instant hit with the Hollywood set.1960s: The first men’s apparel makes its debut, Gucci’s GG belt buckle launches, and ties are introduced. In the years leading up to the apparel launch, travel accessories for men be-come popular. These ranged from lug-gage designed to house shirts, shoes and ties, to toiletry cases containing brushes, razors and bottles.1970s: Gucci launches its horsebit and green-red-green web moccasin. 1981: Gucci shows men’s wear on the runway for the first time, at the Palazzo Pitti venue in Florence, where it also shows its women’s ready-to-wear.1994: Tom Ford is appointed creative director, a post he holds until April 2004. 1995: Gucci presents its first men’s and women’s fashion show at Milan Fashion Week (the fall 1995 collection).2001: Gucci launches Made to Order for-malwear.January 2004: Tom Ford’s final men’s wear collection for Gucci.April 2004: John Ray is appointed men’s wear designer, presenting his first men’s collection in June that year. He holds the post until January 2006.March 2006: Frida Giannini is appointed creative director of the house, and adds men’s wear to her responsibilities. She presents her first Gucci men’s show in June that year.2008: Gucci launches Gucci Viaggio, a modern travel collection of exclusive luggage and accessories. The company introduces the prestigious Goodyear de-sign system for the men’s Made to Order footwear collection.2011: His-and-her accessories includ-ing boat shoes, flip-flops and duffle bags launch to accompany the Aquariva by Gucci speedboat.

WWDMILESTONES / GUCCI AT 90

Fall 1995

Frida Giannini’s first men’s collection,

spring 2007.

Fall 1987 Spring 2010

The Cowboy collection, spring 2005.

The Cowboy collection, spring 2005.

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Clockwise from top left: An accessories display in the Sixties; Vanessa Redgrave carries a Bamboo bag backstage on the set of “Blow-Up,” 1966; the Flora print, born in 1966, flourished through the Seventies; the New Bamboo in an array of colors; a display in the Florence store features accessories and bags for the stylish traveler, 1980; the Diamante pattern suitcase; the Jackie bag.

WWDMILESTONES / GUCCI AT 90

By ALESSANDRA TURRA

THEY DON’T CALL them icons for nothing.From its earliest days, Gucci has left its mark on

the luxury handbag and luggage industry, earning its reputation with a blend of excellent workmanship, high-quality materials and a knack for developing long-lasting, immediately identifiable designs.

With sales exceeding 1 billion euros ($1.32 billion at current exchange), this sector represents more than 50 percent of Gucci’s revenues today.

Under Frida Giannini’s creative direction, the house has revisited its most iconic styles and patterns, marking every collection with the birth of a new “It” bag. Here’s a brief history of Gucci’s bag evolution.

GUCCI LUGGAGE Early days: Gucci’s business starts with the produc-tion of handcrafted travel pieces. 2008: The Gucci Viaggio collection launches. Made of a high-tech, light resin, the line offers stylish and practical equipment for modern travelers. Available in black or in the iconic GG print, all the pieces feature a round rubber logoed plaque.

DIAMANTEEarly Thirties: The crisscross pattern featuring small connecting diamonds is Gucci’s first signature print. 2010: To celebrate the launch of the new digital flagship, Giannini dips into the archive and rediscov-ers the diamond pattern and uses it in the Diamante Plus Online Collection.

BAMBOO1947: To compensate for the lack of materials after War World II, Aldo Gucci adds a handle in Japanese bamboo to a bag in pebbled pigskin. The result? The Bamboo bag. Early Nineties: Dawn Mello reintroduces the Bamboo Bag as well as bamboo detailing in various accessories categories. As creative director, Tom Ford shows the bamboo element paired with other bag models in ad campaigns. During his highly successful 1995-1996 run-way shows, Ford features bamboo detailing on many bags, opening the era of the Gucci must-have “It” bag.2010: Giannini revisits the Bamboo. Made with 140 hand-assembled elements, the New Bamboo bag is

available in the classic shape or in a larger version, and in myriad colors and materials. The introduc-tion of new details, including a leather strap, a metal chain and bamboo fringe tassels, contribute an urban contemporary touch.

WEB The Fifties: Taking inspiration from the canvas girths used to hold saddle to horse, Gucci introduces a green-red-green strap on handbags and pieces of lug-gage. It immediately becomes a recognizable signa-ture of the brand. 2010: Produced in various color combinations, in-cluding gray-brown or brown-beige, the web is ap-plied to duffel bags on the men’s spring runway.

HORSEBIT The Fifties: The equestrian-inspired brass horsebit is used in saddle-stitched handbags for the first time. But, in 1953, it reaches a zenith in popularity when it appears on men’s loafers, paired with the web.

2009: The Icon Bit bag features an oversize horse-bit metal closure, contrasting with the shoulder bag’s soft shape and feather-light weight.

THE DOUBLE-GThe Sixties: Printed on canvas, the GG logo appears on bags and luggage. In 1968, it also adorns mini-kaf-tans and boots in Gucci’s first runway show. 2005: “La Pelle Guccissima” delivers a new version of the double G. Both leather and patent leather are hot-printed with the logo, which appears embossed or three-dimensional, thanks to the color that is ap-plied diagonally on the surface. 2008: The Crystal GG collection makes its debut on the catwalk, during the fall women’s show. The dou-ble G printed canvas is covered with a sleek, glossy glaze for a shiny effect.

JACKIE1961: To celebrate Jacqueline Kennedy, who is con-stantly photographed carrying a Gucci bag with round-ed edges and a signature push-lock closure, Gucci re-names that shoulder style “The Jackie.” Instant icon.1999: Tom Ford reintroduces the Jackie bag in many colors and variations, triggering a huge and sustained response.2009: Gucci launches “The New Jackie.” The classic shape is made bigger and the body is deconstructed and soft. In addition, Giannini adds signature touch-es including long leather tassels and bamboo details, in bright colors and luxurious materials.

FLORA 1966: Rodolfo Gucci asks artist Vittorio Accornero to design a floral scarf for Princess Grace of Monaco. The fresh and feminine print, featuring 140 varieties of flowers, plants and insects, immediately blossoms on a wide range of products, including bags. 2005: For the cruise handbag collection, Giannini de-cides to let Flora bloom once again, to great success.

GUCCI 19731973: The bag collection sports a redesigned pol-ished brass GG logo with an antique touch. 2010: Inspired by an archival gem featuring the 1973 logo on the front flap, Giannini designs an elegant collection of rectangular shoulder bags marked by the same vintage logo.

Logo-a-Go-GoFrom the brand’s inception, bags have been a hallmark.

Web and Double-G bags, 1971.

By KERRY OLSEN

DESPITE A SATURATED marketplace, Gucci’s fragrance business has continued to ignite consumer interest.

After a flurry of best-selling launches — and amid a sector battling back from recession — the question on industry lips is: How does Gucci’s licensee, Procter & Gamble Prestige, intend to further bolster the Italian label’s scent arm?

“We’re well on our way to tripling the business for Gucci since we acquired it in 2006,” said Luigi Feola, vice president of Procter & Gamble Prestige, in a recent WWD interview at the global headquarters for P&G Prestige in Geneva. Industry sources estimate the Gucci beauty brand could now be worth $500 million to $600 million in retail sales worldwide.

According to P&G executives, longevity and sustaining the luxury label’s existing scent brands is at the core of Gucci’s beauty strategy. Patrice Louvet, president of P&G’s global pres-tige division, said his company intends to build the brand’s scent business over time. The fashion house’s existing multi-faceted portfolio includes Gucci by Gucci for men and women, the feminine fragrance Flora, launched in 2009; Gucci by Gucci Sport Pour Homme, which bowed in early 2010, and its latest blockbuster juice Gucci Guilty for Her, which hit shelves last September and is aimed at a young, social-networking con-sumer. A men’s counterpart is slated to roll out from March.

Carolyn Tastad, vice president of global market opera-tions for P&G Prestige elaborated on the strategy: “We plan to look at what we can do to sustain existing franchises [like] Flora or Guilty [and] continue to build the base business with an ongoing approach that is just as innovative.”

P&G’s long-term strategy doesn’t rule out the possibility of new scents. “The time will come to launch something else, but until then we need to sustain the existing lines. We have exciting programs for each of these,” said Feola.

Louvet agreed, “There will be more launches — but in the context of the brand. We won’t just be chucking things out there.”

As to whether a much-rumored Gucci color cosmetics line could be part of forthcoming rollouts, Louvet underlined its current focus for the brand is fragrances and building them worldwide. “The success of Guilty for Her makes us feel very good about this brand and its long-term beauty potential.”

According to Feola, the women’s version of Guilty — set to reinforce the younger pillar of the Gucci stable, alongside Flora — is on track to surpass industry expectations of top-ping $200 million in first-year retail sales, after a positive rollout that kicked off last July.

The launch garnered consumer and retail attention for its large-scale interactive marketing campaign, which combined iPad and iPhone applications with dedicated Facebook and YouTube events built around the scent’s 3-D ads featuring actress Evan Rachel Wood.

According to Feola, its catchy rollout bolstered company

confidence in reaching this new social-networking target through digital means.

“These new consumers are not specific to any market. They’re more cosmopolitan, and it’s more about growing the category as a whole rather than looking at individual mar-kets,” he said. “We’ll continue to leverage this type of market-ing for the rollout of Guilty for Him. That said, we’re not just interested in a bombastic first year and then moving on to the next thing. Our strategy is to sustain our big initiatives so they become the classics of tomorrow. We have a sustainable plan and a detailed vision of the next 24 months on a quarter-by-quarter basis,” he said.

Louvet said tapping into the heritage of the brand is key to the successes of the Gucci scents.

“Step-by-step, we’re translating each chapter of the brand into a fragrance proposition,” referring to Flora as an ex-ample that encompasses designs from a printed scarf Guccio Gucci developed for the actress Grace Kelly, and olfactory notes based on its botanical prints.

A spokeswoman said in response to people stealing the iconic horse-bit decoration from the Gucci by Gucci bottle, P&G had to develop a new ultrasonic welding technique to ensure it remained attached to the bottles.

In describing the brand’s global appeal, Louvet said, “We were recently in China, and Gucci’s performance there is amaz-ing. Wherever you go with this brand, it really resonates and connects with consumers. We think it [will] win long term in the beauty sector. We have ambitious goals for this business.”

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THE BEAUTY TRAIL SHREWD MARKETING, a generous dose of sex and plenty of pleasure are the foundation of Gucci’s formidable scent empire, with estimated retail sales of $500 million to $600 million.

Creative director Frida Giannini has used her own variations on the themes since she took sole creative control in 2006, boosting the luxury label’s multifaceted beauty image.

Procter and Gamble Co.’s Prestige arm is the current licensee for Gucci’s fragrances and cosmetics, a lengthy transaction eventually inked in March 2006, although P&G actually acquired the controlling stake in Wella AG, Gucci’s former licensee, in 2003. Wella secured the original Gucci license in a deal with Escada AG’s beauty division, Escada Beauté Group SA, in April 2002.

Gucci first appeared on the fragrance scene in 1975, but the company started making waves in the category in 1997, when, under Tom Ford’s tenure, the women’s scent Gucci Envy, made by Cosmopolitan, bowed. Its slick packaging and suggestive name heralded a new era for the scent portfolio, followed in 1999 by Gucci Rush, which captured Ford’s audacious aesthetics with a heady scent, scarlet box and tantalizing ads featuring models in the throes of ecstasy. A flanker, Gucci Rush 2, followed two years later, and in 2002, a male version, dubbed Gucci Rush for Men, hit the market.

As with the Gucci fashion image, and running parallel to the brand’s conspicuously sexy DNA, Giannini has injected a sense of heritage into fragrance flacons and inspirations.

Gucci by Gucci was Giannini’s first women’s fragrance. Launched in 2007, it displayed her affinity for olfactory notes usually reserved for men’s scents. In a design flourish that would pave the way for future launches, its faceted brown bottle features classic Gucci motifs.

Under Giannini, Gucci’s ramped-up scent portfolio has taken on a cinematic guise, as Hollywood stars including James Franco, Chris Evans and Rachel Evan Wood were tapped to front the house’s scents and offbeat directors Frank Miller and David Lynch shot its TV campaigns. Giannini surprised with her choice of Lynch to direct Gucci by Gucci’s buzzy advertising, which featured a trio of dancing girls. It marked the first time Gucci advertised one of its fragrances on TV.

A male counterpart, Gucci by Gucci Pour Homme, followed in 2008. It was packaged in a smoked glass bottle and silver cap crowned with Gucci’s iconic horse bit, and was fronted by Franco. A sporty spin on the juice, Gucci by Gucci Sport Pour Homme, was unveiled in February 2010.

Catering to a younger customer, Flora hit the market in 2009 and instantly drove sales with its lighter, feminine scent. Its TV ad, shot by Chris Cunningham, featured the model Abbey Lee Kershaw and was set to the tune of Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love.”

Last September, the house’s latest blockbuster, the glitzy gold Gucci Guilty for Her, landed on shelves, reinforcing the brand’s younger pillar, promoted via a 3-D mini film directed by Miller and starring Wood. A male counterpart fronted by Evans is slated to launch in March.

— K.O.

Juiced UpFlora launched in 2009, followed by Gucci Guilty in 2010 (below).

The original Gucci Envy, 1997.

Fragrance has been a solid performer in all its incarnations.

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WWDMILESTONES / GUCCI AT 90

BY CHRISTINE LEE

SEX SELLS, AND GUCCI KNOWS IT. It took a while, though, to figure it out.

For about six decades, the brand’s advertising tended toward the traditional: text-heavy, focused on quality and craftsmanship. In the early Eighties, it briefly flirted with American-style glamour, using models like Carol Alt and Andie MacDowell as eye candy. But in the mid-Nineties, Gucci ads got aggres-sive — very aggressive — courtesy of creative direc-tor Tom Ford’s ultrasexy vision and backed by chief executive officer Domenico De Sole’s open check-book. And it paid off.

Ford revolutionized the approach by targeting the MTV generation with sex-charged imagery. At the time, Martin Landey of Landey & Partners Grounds Morris said, “What Gucci has done in terms of the el-ements, models, males and females, such as a woman

wearing the blue pinstripe suit…there’s a sexuality to it, and it’s exquisitely photographed.”

In 1996, De Sole attributed impressive financial results partly to “enhanced advertising programs” — between 1995 and 1996, the advertising budget jumped from $11.7 million to $48 million.

William Flanz, who handed the ceo reins to De Sole in 1995, also credited the decision to quadruple ad spending as a key decision in the upturn of the company’s fiscal situation.

“We had good products and a good campaign, and we had to get it out there and let people see what we had to sell,” Flanz remarked in 1996.

Ford turned up the heat throughout his decade at the creative helm. In 2003, he launched perhaps his most controversial campaign. It featured a female model with a “G” shaved into her pubic hair and a man kneeling in front of her. The spread was bare-ly saved from the Advertising Standards Authority chopping block, and it generated plenty of press.

Another image that season had model Louise Pedersen sprawled across Adam Senn’s knees, as if she were about to be spanked. The photos were shot by Mario Testino in color, on location “in an empty house outside L.A.” and often with spotlight effects. Ford called the mood “sexy and chic.”

At the time, George Fertitta, ceo of New York ad agency Margeotes/Fertitta, said Gucci has “crafted an image that’s gone from completely uncool to in-style and as cool as it gets. [The ‘G’ image] is a small piece of the cool puzzle.”

Gucci’s advertising experienced a considerable about-face after Ford’s departure in 2004. Having established itself as a sexy brand, Frida Giannini dropped the in-your-face approach so she could shake things up her own way.

For one, she chose to feature a celebrity in an ad for the first time in the company’s history — an early inkling of her affinity for Hollywood. Drew Barrymore

Get the MessageFrom simple to sultry to celebrity, the branding takes center stage.

Drew Barrymore in the 2007 jewelry campaign, shot by Inez Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin.

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appeared in the brand’s fine jewelry campaign in 2007 wearing nothing but a few pieces from the collection and a come-hither look, a visual concept that would be reiterated a year later with Claire Danes.

Giannini would later tap James Franco to front the Gucci Pour Homme Sport ads, Rihanna for UNICEF/Tattoo Heart, Evan Rachel Wood and Chris Evans for the Gucci Guilty fragrance and, most re-cently, Jennifer Lopez and her twins for the brand’s children’s line.

Giannini also spearheaded the maison’s first foray into TV commercials for the launch of her freshman fragrance, Gucci by Gucci, enlisting the avant-garde talents of David Lynch. The 60-second spot fea-tured house regulars Raquel Zimmermann, Natasha Poly and Freja Beha Erichsen dancing to Blondie’s

“Heart of Glass” in a classic Lynch dreamy sequence.For Gucci Guilty, Giannini went with direc-

tor Frank Miller — a fitting choice since he is best known for his graphic novel and film, “Sin City.”

The visuals for Gucci’s print ads also underwent several mini evolutions, in tune with the brand’s changing photographers and changing moods.

Craig McDean bridged the transition from Ford to Giannini with several campaigns that were rela-tively no-frills compared with Ford’s controver-sial creations. Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin were brought on board in 2007, and the duo toned down Gucci’s advertising. The new campaigns sported softer and more muted tones, nostalgic vin-tage beach scenes for cruise to overcast skies behind giant Greek statues for spring, not to mention an ethereal Abbey Lee Kershaw in the Flora ads.

“The Gucci woman we created was a softer, ul-trafeminine one,” said Lamsweerde. “Not overtly sexy, but mysterious, glamorous, confident and al-ways in movement.”

In 2010, the baton passed to Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, who had previously collaborated with the house on several beauty spreads as well as the fall 2007 Indy bag ad.

Their first major Gucci campaign featured Poly lazing poolside in a sunny locale with an equally nonchalant male companion — imagery that was aimed less at evoking product lust and more at mak-ing a declaration about the brand. It was a fitting start to a year that would see Gucci reconnect with its jet-set roots and celebrity connections, building itself once again as a glamorous and luxurious life-style company.

Clockwise from top left: An ad from the 1982-83 season, shot by Bob Krieger; behind the scenes of the David Lynch commercial for Gucci by Gucci fragrance; a 1995-96 ad by Mario Testino; the 1985 campaign by Bob Krieger; an image from 1991 by Raymond Meier; a 2003 ad image by Mario Testino, and Claire Danes in the 2008 jewelry campaign, by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin.

MORE! TO DOWNLOAD A FREE APP WITH

VIDEOS AND SLIDESHOWS FOR

THE IPAD, VISIT WWD.COM/GUCCIAPP.

{Continued from page 38}

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Shop KeepersRetail has always been a critical element in promoting the label.

By LUISA ZARGANI

WHEN GUCCIO GUCCI opened his first shop in Florence in 1921, he set the tone for the company as a vertical retailer.

Since then, retail expansion has been a priority for the company, a pioneer in globalization. Gucci opened its first store outside Italy at New York’s Savoy Plaza Hotel on East 58th Street in 1953. Guccio’s son Aldo, the strong-willed company chairman at the time, fur-ther pushed the business’ international boundaries through the Fifties, Sixties and Seventies.

In the following decades, Gucci never strayed far from the guidelines set by the founding family, with its long-term view of its retail business and tight con-trol over the brand and its distribution; by partner-ing locally when needed to better understand local clientele, and in its approach to new luxury markets.

Today more than 70 percent of Gucci’s revenues are generated from its own stores, which totaled more than 310 at the end of 2010.

“A company such as Gucci must continue to invest, open stores, relocate and refurbish without stopping,” Patrizio di Marco told WWD in April 2009, in his first interview since taking the reins as Gucci’s chief execu-tive officer four months earlier.

In tune with Gucci’s focus on retail, Frida Giannini, creative director since 2005, swiftly began to leave her mark on the brand’s store concept.

With a celebratory party for 800 and a perfor-mance by Mary J. Blige, the company unveiled its Gucci Ginza flagship in Tokyo in November 2006. The 11,000-square-foot store covers five of the eight floors in a glass building the company built from scratch, with more than 40,000 square feet of addi-tional space allotted for the brand’s Japan offices.

The New York flagship on Fifth Avenue.

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No expense was spared; the land alone cost more than $80 million.

Mark Lee, ceo at the time, and Giannini, who mas-terminded the interiors, tapped James Carpenter, an architect who built his reputation on glass, to design the multifaceted exteriors of the flagship, conceived to be superluxurious, with silk robes in the fitting rooms and Guccissima leather shoehorns.

In the name of continuity, architect William Sofield, the man who translated Tom Ford’s sultry elegance and store design concept of steel and bitter-chocolate browns, forged the interior of the store in lighter and warmer tones, as per Giannini’s guidelines. Brushed nickel with touches of shiny or matte gold replaced the hard-edged glow of mirror-polished metals.

Classic Gucci materials such as rosewood — a fix-ture in the Sixties and Seventies — velvet mohair up-holstery, and travertine marble were maintained, yet a notch lighter. Thick and soft moquette alternated with butter-colored marble. A cafe, the brand’s sec-ond after Milan, opened on the fifth floor, and the first Gucci gallery was located on the eighth floor.

In fall 2007, Gucci entered India, opening its first franchised boutique in Mumbai, followed by two in New Delhi. The sprawling single-story, 3,400-square-foot Mumbai venue was modeled after the Ginza store, but the company adapted to the location with custom designed chocolate brown turbans for the staff. These stores were under a two-year franchisee relationship with Murjani.

Following that agreement, Gucci entered the Indian market with a directly owned store in New Delhi via a venture with entrepreneurs Reena and Ashok Wadhwa. Gucci held a 51 percent stake in the business, the maxi-mum allowed to foreign companies in India.

“We do believe that India will definitely become an important market for the industry in the long-term,” said di Marco at the time. “Indians have a so-phisticated taste for luxury goods, and we have been working with Indian customers in key European loca-tions for years. Gucci’s unique combination of luxury heritage and fashion authority certainly has strong appeal for consumers in this market.”

Despite economic doldrums, in 2008 Gucci reached out to new markets, opening stores in cities as diverse as Prague, Budapest, Munich, Macau, Cape Town, and Auckland, New Zealand. The firm looked to seize new opportunities while continuing to develop existing bou-tiques and markets at the same time.

Indeed, the biggest event that year was the opening in February of a new three-level, 46,000-square-foot flag-ship in New York, marked by a fund–raising event head-lined by Madonna and a star-studded party.

Located in Trump Tower, at Fifth Avenue and 56th Street, the store remains Gucci’s largest in the world. Giannini, who said at the time that her “second pas-sion in life” was architecture, further explored and developed her aesthetics. Design elements included a subtle double-G-patterned carpet, the iconic web stripe etched into the frames of the glass fixtures, white marble floors, Art Deco-style sofas, chaise longues and dark rosewood cabinets. Rome’s re-newed store on Via Condotti reopened at the same time, and all other locations were to be modeled

after the New York and Rome banners. Gucci has also been investing in its own stores,

buying back its franchisees whenever possible, as in Munich in 2008. In December 2010, the firm directly en-tered the Greek retail market through a joint venture with local partner Charagionis Group, following a mul-tiyear franchisee relationship with the same company.

Last fall, Gucci extended its U.S. footprint with an 11,000-square-foot store in Las Vegas, in the Crystals at CityCenter, and a 6,445-square-foot boutique at North Park Center in Dallas.

To celebrate the latter’s opening, the company had Gucci craftsmen assembling handbags in the store as part of its Artisan Corner program. The artisans trav-eled to the San Francisco, Beverly Hills, Chicago and New York stores, as well to as those in Tokyo, Osaka, Rome and Paris.

Gucci also initiated a project in 2009: pop-up stores for high-impact, lower-cost methods of generating atten-tion. They’re dubbed Gucci Icon-Temporary. The stores, with whitewashed walls and oversize signature red-and-green web stripes, were conceived to appear for two or three weeks in cities such as London, Miami (in connec-tion with the Art Basel Miami Beach show), New York, Berlin, Paris, Hong Kong and Tokyo, with 18 limited edi-tion styles of sneakers.

Among the featured sneakers are two styles de-signed by Giannini in collaboration with DJ, music producer and sneaker enthusiast Mark Ronson. The Gucci Ronson sneakers include a high-top boat shoe in gray herringbone tweed.

Said Giannini: “The whole point of the pop-up stores is to communicate with and create an envi-ronment for younger customers and, in particular, fans of music.”

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Eastern Standard

WWDMILESTONES / GUCCI AT 90

GUCCI IS EXPANDING aggressively in Asia in an effort to tap into the region’s increasingly cash-rich consumers.

In just more than six years, the brand has rapidly increased the size of its network in Mainland China from just four stores to 39 boutiques. Beyond Beijing and Shanghai, it has penetrated a host of second- and third-tier cities, such as Chengdu, Dalian, Nanjing, Shenyang, Shenzhen and Fuzhou.

“In the last few years, we have grown tremendously both in terms of brand recognition and the number of stores in China,” said Patrizio di Marco, Gucci president and chief executive. “I believe that today, Gucci symbolizes a balance between fashion authority and luxury heritage, values that the increasing number of Chinese luxury consumers are seeking out along with the assurance of quality Italian craftsmanship that our Made in Italy label represents.”

One of Gucci’s highest profile openings came in spring 2009 when it opened a 17,200-square-foot flagship in Shanghai next to luxury mall Plaza 66. The five-story store features a massive golden glass facade and interiors of polished rose gold and smoked bronze glass.

“For Shanghai, I wanted to blend a modern architectural statement that fits with the contemporary feeling of the city, but also keep it firmly tied to iconic materials and elements from Gucci’s heritage,” creative director Frida Giannini said when the store opened.

The Asia-Pacific region is Gucci’s largest market, comprising 36 percent of full-year 2010 revenue of 2.67 billion euros, or $3.61 billion.

Sales in Asia, excluding Japan, rose 24.2 percent in the third quarter and 23.5 percent in the fourth quarter.

Of that total, sales in Greater China, which includes Hong Kong and Macau, advanced 31 percent in both the third and fourth quarters.

Gucci declined to give sales forecasts for the region.“Today, Asia and especially China take on a greater

importance,” said PPR chairman and ceo Francois-Henri Pinault, noting that 21 percent of Gucci’s 2010 sales were generated in Greater China — 11 percent on the Mainland. The latter figure suggests strong potential for expansion. “We are very far from maturity.”

Gucci also cited a sharp improvement in fourth-quarter sales in the Asia-Pacific market, which Pinault said is indicative of a “stabilization of the market.” Sales there spiked 23.5 percent in the period.

To be sure, store openings in the region are propelling Gucci’s revenue growth. For example, last year the company opened a 10,000-square-foot store in Singapore overlooking the city-state’s famed Orchard Road with a design concept mirroring that of the Shanghai flagship.

As of the end of 2010, besides the Mainland China shops, Gucci had nine stores in Hong Kong, three in Macau and 42 more elsewhere in Asia, excluding Japan.

Gucci, like most other luxury labels, has seen its sales dwindle in Japan as consumers cut back on spending against a backdrop of macroeconomic stagnation. Once a cash cow for luxury brands, Japan is posing serious challenges for Gucci and other industry players. The luxury brand is heavily exposed to that market with 59 stores in the country. That tops its French rival Louis Vuitton, which has 57 boutiques in Japan.

But recently, Gucci management said it witnessed an improvement in Japan in the latter part of last year. More specifically, fourth-quarter sales there rose 1.4 percent. That compares with a 9.1 percent drop in the third quarter.

In terms of full-year figures, Japan comprises 14 percent of the brand’s sales, making it Gucci’s fourth-largest market after the rest of Asia, Western Europe and North America.

In 2006, Gucci opened an eight-story, 11,000-square-foot flagship in Ginza. The store also served as a debut for the brand’s first post-Tom Ford design concept. Although the Japanese market for luxury goods is hardly robust, Ginza is a prime shopping destination for Asian tourists.

“Japan remains one of Gucci’s most important markets and one in which there will be continued investment. In fact, in the last quarter of 2010 we have seen some encouraging signs of recovery, particularly in the month of December,” said a Gucci spokesman. “Japan is probably the market where the fine tuning of Gucci’s positioning, which has been under way in the last two years, will be most appreciated.”

— AMANDA KAISER

The Shanghai store.

The flagship in Tokyo’s Ginza.

{Continued from page 42}

1921

Brussels x Century City x Dallas x Denver x Dubai x Hong Kong x London x Los Angeles x Munich x New York

Orange County x Palo Alto x Paris x San Francisco x São Paulo x Singapore x Washington, D.C.

Congratulates our client

on

Ninety Years of

Raising the Bar in Fashion

1921

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WWDMILESTONES / GUCCI AT 90

The Tech BoomGucci has made a priority of hanging out with the right click.

By CHRISTINE LEE

GUCCI, ONE OF THE EARLY ADOPTERS of e-com-merce when it launched its first online store in 2002, has since asserted itself as a major presence in the digital world. Whether through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, an iPhone application or its own portals, it’s reaching millions of people around the world.

The company has made its presence in the digital arena a priority, investing in technology and online initiatives. Starting in mid-2009, it began to intro-duce a series of microsites to promote specific prod-uct lines. In June 2009, it launched guccifragrances.com (which has since been renamed gucciparfums.com), and florabygucci.com. The company took a different route for its Gucci Guilty perfume: a dedi-cated page on YouTube, as well as its own tab on the official Facebook page.

In October 2009, interactive site guccieyeweb.com was presented in tandem with the new Eyeweb collection, aimed at the “digital generation” of 18- to 25-year-olds. And last May, guccitimepieces.com went live, and six months later was absorbed into gu-

ccitimeless.com, a portal dedicated to all of Gucci’s jewelry products.

The launch of the Eyeweb site, which allows users to upload and share photos and see them reflected in various models of the eyewear line, marked the beginning of a more user-interactive ap-proach. From the small screen to the even-smaller screen, Gucci introduced the iPhone/iPod Touch app in October 2009. It features a 24-hour music channel, hotel and restaurant tips, playlists, a store locator and the Children’s Collection Playground feature, which was introduced with the new children’s line. As of mid-December, the app had been downloaded more than 840,000 times and generated 1.5 million upgrades worldwide.

Gucci has embraced the Facebook phenomenon as well, leveraging the 500 million-strong social net-work to generate traffic on its various Web sites and using unique applications as marketing tools. The company’s wall keeps followers updated on Gucci news through links, images and videos, and since starting in November 2008, has cultivated a fan base of more than 3.5 million.

In November, Gucci launched the Eye Want You app, which allows users to create personalized vid-eos using clips that feature different models of the Eyeweb collection. Since its introduction, around 5,500 Eye Want You videos have been created and it is the most viewed tab on the Gucci Facebook page, according to the company.

The culmination of Gucci’s cyber efforts came in the form of its newly renovated luxury digital flagship, gucci.com, which has consistently gener-ated an average of 3 million visits a month since its launch in September.

The company emphasized its importance from a business standpoint as well, when president and chief executive officer Patrizio di Marco said, “The destiny of the gucci.com digital flagship is that it will become our highest volume store in the world.”

As it launched its site, Gucci also said it would live-stream its spring 2011 show — but with a twist. Users were invited to sign up for virtual tickets to the Gucci Connect E-vent on gucciconnect.com as well as compete for VIP seating through a separate contest on the brand’s Facebook page.

The company’s digital playground includes iPhone and iPad apps, virtual storefronts and social networking presences.

Dressing With the Stars

00 WWDSTYLE XXXXXXXXX, XXXXXXXX XX, 2011

Sophia Loren at Gucci’s Rome store in the Seventies.

Cultivating its celebrity relationships has practically been written into the company’s mission statement.

48 WWDSECTION III WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2011

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ISO 14001 - Cert. n. 0372A/0ISO 14001 - Cert. n. 0372A/0

Almax means:

Eco-friendly mannequins Made in Italy qualityShockproof materialsFully recyclable polystyrene

www.almax-italy.com

PROUD TO BE GUCCI’S SUPPLIERS

ALMAX CONGRATULATES GUCCI

FOR 90 YEARS OF LUXURY AND STYLE

00 WWDSTYLE XXXXXXXXX, XXXXXXXX XX, 2011

Princess Grace Kelly in Rome in the Fifties.Princess Grace Kelly in Rome in the Fifties.

WWDMILESTONES / GUCCI AT 90

50 WWDSECTION III WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2011

NOT CONTENT with just dressing stars for the red carpet, Gucci has been working its cinematic DNA into the preservation of motion picture history itself.

A long-standing partnership with Martin Scorsese’s nonprofit organization, The Film Foundation, has fueled the restoration of six classic films including Luchino Visconti’s “Il Gattopardo” (“The Leopard”), and Federico Fellini’s “La Dolce Vita” since 2006. To date, Gucci has pledged a total donation of $1.5 million to the cause.

The Florentine house has injected a dose of Italian glamour to the restorations, orchestrating buzzy events around the digitally remastered flicks, and blending the luxury label with studied ease among the film festival set.

The 63rd Cannes Film Festival in May was the starry setting for the debut of the restored “Il Gattopardo.” A limo ride and a few months later, the world premiere of “La Dolce Vita” took place during Rome’s film festival.

It provided a new generation of filmgoers the opportunity to see the

landmark movie on the big screen, as well as set the scene for a glittering bash in the Eternal City that saw new Hollywood — and house favorites James Franco and Eva Mendes — mingle with industry heavyweights like Scorsese, Bernardo Bertolucci and Anita Ekberg.

This year, Gucci is gearing up to introduce a new film accolade — the Gucci Award for Women — in collaboration with the Venice International Film Festival. Spotlighting female artistsfor their contributions to film, Frida Giannini will add jury president to her résumé, as she joins the festival’s advisory committee led by director Marco Mueller.

Gucci plans to award a $25,000 scholarship fund to a leading film school in the name of the honoree.

To date, Gucci and The Film Foundation restored John Cassavetes’ film “A Woman Under The Influence” in 2006; “Le Amiche” by Michelangelo Antonioni in 2007; “Wanda” by Barbara Loden in 2008; “Senso” by Luchino Visconti in 2009, and “Il Gattopardo” and “La Dolce Vita” last year.

— KERRY OLSEN

Film Magic

By CHRISTINE LEE

WHEN PRINCESS GRACE strode into Gucci’s Via Montenapoleone boutique a half-century ago, she not only catapulted the Flora print to fame, she thrust the brand’s love affair with celebrities into high gear. Through the years, Gucci would become known for accessorizing and dressing everyone from stars and aristocrats to celebrity brats. Another notable mo-ment came in 1995 with Tom Ford’s first — and quite provocative — fall collection for the house, from which Madonna selected her outfit for the MTV Video Music Awards that year.

Last May, creative director Frida Giannini re-stoked the brand’s jet-set fire. The setting was the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival, one of the most glamorous venues in the film world. It was there, at the “Robin Hood” premiere,that the house launched Giannini’s Gucci Première collection of one-of-a-kind couture gowns on a radiant Salma Hayek.

Over the next few days, Hayek appeared twice more in Première dresses, along with a slew of other Gucci-clad VIPs including Naomi Watts, Kate Beckinsale, Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony, Camilla Belle, Léa

{Continued on page 52}

Dressing With the Stars

Princess Diana, Rome, 1991.

Gucci helped restore “La Dolce Vita” with The Film Foundation.

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, New York, 1970.

Audrey Hepburn in Rome in the Sixties.

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PRE-PRESS • PHOTO-VIDEO CREATION & MANIPULATION • CONTENT MANAGEMENT • GLOBAL CONTENT DELIVERY • THE NEXT GENERATION

c l x e u r o p e . c o m

20 years of partnership and this is the only line we create for you. Happy 90th Anniversary Gucci.

CLX EUROPE CONGRATULATES GUCCI ON 90 YEARS OF FASHION EXCELLENCE AND ICONIC ITALIAN DESIGN.

WE ARE VERY PROUD OF OUR SUCCESSFUL 20 YEAR PARTNERSHIP, AND LOOK FORWARD TO THE NEXT CENTURY.

00 WWDSTYLE XXXXXXXXX, XXXXXXXX XX, 2011

WWDMILESTONES / GUCCI AT 90

52 WWDSECTION III WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2011

WHEN IT COMES TO CHARITY, Gucci doesn’t short-sell the glamour.

Over the past five years, the luxury label has enlisted celebrities including Madonna, Rihanna and Jennifer Lopez to join its fund-raising efforts in favor of UNICEF’s actions supporting orphans and children affected by AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa.

Gucci has committed more than $9 million to the programs, which range from the Schools for Africa initiative to funding child care centers.

The commitment to corporate social responsibility is something of an obsession for parent group PPR. Last year, PPR published for the first time its targets for each division, specifying that a portion of key executives’ salaries was tied to achieving these objectives.

In Gucci’s case, goals include slashing its transport-related emissions of carbon dioxide by 20 percent in the next 10 years, and guaranteeing all the paper it uses is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council — including its glossy shopping bags.

Patrizio di Marco, Gucci’s chief executive officer, noted that the brand

was an early adopter in the luxury sector by voluntarily initiating the certification process for CSR across its supply chains in 2004.

“The world’s leading brands are rightly judged today not just on the quality of their products and services, but also on the way they act in the community and toward the environment,” Di Marco noted. “These initiatives are part of our values system.”

Gucci has since received the SA 8000 certification, a global social accountability standard for decent working conditions, for its leather goods, shoes, ready-to-wear, silk and jewelry supply chains.

The company trained more than 400 of its suppliers and subsuppliers on social responsibility themes, and audited a further 1,000 to verify they are meeting its standards.

Thanks to these efforts, Gucci recently obtained the ISO 14001 certification, a voluntary standard designed to assist companies in reducing their negative impact on the environment.

Customers can participate in the fund-raising efforts by purchasing items from

the annual holiday collection of exclusive accessories or by buying the Gucci for UNICEF handbag sold year-round. In each case, 25 percent of the retail price goes to the U.N. organization.

Gucci is also encouraging its clients to make small gestures for the environment, for instance, by accepting a “go green” option when registering to receive catalogues, thereby substituting all printed materials for electronic versions.

Other initiatives have taken their cue from PPR’s commitment to women, through its Foundation for the Dignity and the Rights of Women, and green causes.

In 2009, Gucci launched a limited edition Twirl watch to benefit singer Mary J. Blige’s Foundation for the Advancement of Women Now.

Also that year, the company created a limited edition T-shirt benefiting Goodplanet.org, a nonprofit association headed by French photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand, to coincide with the worldwide release of his environmental documentary “Home,” funded by PPR.

— JOELLE DIDERICH

The Greater Good

Seydoux, Aishwarya Rai — and Giannini herself.In an era in which designers have gained star sta-

tus themselves, Giannini is often found on the red carpet alongside Gucci’s roster of celebs, includ-ing current fragrance faces James Franco and Evan Rachel Wood.

The brand also has continued to solidify its pres-ence in the music arena. In 2008, Gucci tapped Rihanna to appear in the ads for the Tattoo Heart Collection benefitting UNICEF, and last fall, Lopez and her twin tots starred in the Gucci children’s line campaign, which is also linked to UNICEF and to J.Lo’s Maribel Foundation. The involvement of Anthony, Lopez’s husband, made the partnership a family affair — Gucci dressed him in made-to-order pieces for the U.S. leg of his 2010 tour.

Last November, Giannini designed two leather bomber jackets as part of Jay-Z’s treasure hunt for the launch of his book, “Decoded.”

{Continued on page 54}

{Continued from page 50}

Elton John in Rome in the Seventies.

Julie Andrews at the Gucci Rome store

in the Sixties.

Mary J. Blige on Fashion’s

Night Out, 2010.

Barbra Streisand, London, 1969.

Liza Minnelli and Joel Grey,

1972.

Angelina Jolie arriving at a press junket

for “The Tourist” in Paris in December.

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WHAT YOU’VE CREATED FOR THE WORLD IS YOUR GOOD NAME;

WHAT YOU’VE GIVEN TO THE WORLD IS YOUR GOODWILL.

CONGRATULATIONS ON

90 YEARS OF FASHION AND PHILANTHROPY

THE FORBES COMPANYtheforbescompany.com

IN JANUARY 2010, Gucci launched an initiative in collaboration with Christie’s auction house to expand its already-prolific archives and at the same time offer an appraisal service to Gucci collectors. The project also is linked to the museum that Gucci plans to open in Florence in the near future.

A special section on the auctioneer’s Web site, also accessible from gucci.com, offers a free service for vintage collectors seeking to receive a certified appraisal of their products. Users upload several color images and provide brief descriptions of their items. Within two to four weeks, they receive an auction estimate determined by Patricia Frost, Christie’s director of fashion and textiles, and her team, in collaboration with Gucci’s archive department. To date, the online service has registered more than 600 submissions from more than 25 countries.

In addition, last December, more than 30 rare Gucci pieces with values ranging from 600 pounds to 3,000 pounds, or about $950 to $4,760 at current exchange, were included in Christie’s annual “Fashion Through the Ages” sale. The lot included two crocodile handbags, one embellished with lapis lazuli and the other featuring a rhodoid handle and catch, while several different Sixties Bamboo Bags in patent leather, pigskin, suede and ostrich were the bestsellers.

— ALESSANDRA TURRA

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Collectors’ Agent

WWDMILESTONES

Celebrities have long fueled Gucci’s glam fac-tor and, in return, the brand has focused on ini-tiatives that support their industries. Over the last year, Gucci unveiled an annual award for Women in Cinema at the Venice Film Festival, a time-piece collection supporting the Grammy Museum and an additional $900,000 donation (bringing total contributions to $1.5 million) to The Film Foundation, Martin Scorsese’s nonprofit organiza-tion dedicated to restoring historical classics.

With this latest endowment, The Film Foundation presented digitally enhanced versions of two of Italian cinema’s most treasured gems from the Sixties: “Il Gattopardo” and “La Dolce Vita.” Unsurprisingly, a jaunt through the brand’s photo archives produces images of the films’ stars, Alain Delon and Anita Ekberg, both in Gucci.

{Continued from page 52}

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Alain Delon and Romy Schneider, Cannes, 1959.

James Franco and Frida Giannini, 2010.Salma Hayek, 2010.

Jodie Foster outside Gucci’s Rome store

in the Seventies.

A double-G velvet shoulder bag from the early Seventies with leather trim and an enameled “tiger heads” ornament.

A wool scarf in the “rosettes” pattern, mid-Eighties.

Naomi Watts and Woody Allen, 2010.

Naomi Watts and Woody Allen, 2010.

Francis Ford Coppola, 1970.

Arnold & Porter llp Congratulates

on 90 Years of Inspired Vision & Timeless Quality

Our law fi rm is proud to represent Gucci America and be part of the team that helps protect the brand and iconic designs

Global Brand Management: Brand and Design Protection ! Brand Enforcement ! Anti-Counterfeiting ! LicensingIntellectual Property Prosecution ! Unfair Competition/Trade Practice ! Advertising and Promotion

Consumer Protection ! Product Safety ! Product Liability ! Retail ! Regulatory Counseling ! Antitrust

The repeating diamond pattern is a registered trademark of Gucci America, Inc. and is used by permission.

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By NATASHA MONTROSE

GUCCI’S SIGNATURE horsebit, used in the fifties on a shoulder bag and then on the classic Gucci loafer, re-mains one of the most recognizable symbols of Gucci’s ties to the eques-trian world.

Unlike some opportunistic sports sponsorships, the marriage between Gucci and the equestrian world has cultural resonance. The bar-and-bit symbols on shoes and bags and the red-and-green-striped web girth strap trace their origins to the founding of the brand in 1921.

The Florentine house’s continued affiliation with the equestrian world is spurred on by Gucci creative direc-tor Frida Giannini, a horse enthusiast herself who started riding at the age of six and competed in show jumping in her teens.

In December 2009, Gucci rekindled its sponsorship of equestrian events after a 20-year hiatus, choosing in-ternational horse jumping with the European Equestrian Masters, now dubbed the Gucci Masters. The event, which has five competition categories including the new Gucci by Gucci chal-lenge, garnered such significant cov-

erage that the house signed on again for this year. It will take place in early December at the Parc des Expositions in Paris Nord Villepinte.

“The Gucci Masters provides a per-fect link to Gucci’s values, prestige and culture,” Giannini stated.

Charlotte Casiraghi, amateur show jumper and the daughter of Princess Caroline of Monaco, last May was tapped as the brand ambassador for Gucci’s equestrian ventures, joining Virginie Couperie-Eiffel, who has been an official ambassador since Gucci started sponsoring the interna-tional event.

For the Gucci Masters last year, Casiraghi competed in the Style and Competition category wearing an ex-clusive bespoke riding wardrobe by Giannini for the four-day event. Attire included a fitted black blazer with a piping detail on the pocket in the Gucci web colors, as well as an en-graved halter for her steed.

“As I sat with Charlotte to design her show-jumping wardrobe, there was a natural connection and understand-ing between us, which made working together absolutely seamless,” accord-ing to Giannini.

The Gucci Grand Prix carries a

bountiful award of 300,000 euros, or $389,070 at current exchange. Last year it was won by Marco Kutscher of Germany.

Nelson Pessoa, Athina Onassis Roussel de Miranda and Kevin Staut count among previous participants, while guests who recently attended the event include Georgina Bloomberg, Brian Ferry’s sons, Otis and Tara, as well as celebrities such as Nicolas Canteloup and tennis star-turned-horsewoman Martina Hingis.

The Parc des Expositions center this year will again play host to the presti-gious event, which typically attracts 40,000 spectators to see some of the world’s best show jumpers compete.

Gucci also opened a temporary retail outpost at the Villepinte site stocking a special edition silk scarf and made-to-order boots, along with a selection of current pieces from the house’s main collection and vintage pieces.

On the horse racing front, last year, Gucci was also sponsor to the Melbourne Carnival Cup, while one of the events was named the Gucci Stakes on Oaks Day, which is tradi-tionally held three days after the Melbourne Cup.

The Horsey SetGucci has been riding high in the saddle for nine decades.

WWDMILESTONES / GUCCI AT 90

Frida Giannini and Patrizio di Marco flank Jos Lansink, winner of the Gucci Masters, 2009.

Charlotte Casiraghi

wearing her custom-made

boots and riding habit.

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