The Gucci accessories to know and wear
Seen, wanted, worn. The Gucci accessories that have made the company’s history and its icons
Every generation has its “object of desire” and this, at times, has coincided with a Gucci accessory. From the Jackie O bag to the Flora print, we’re here to discover the brand’s most desired fashion items.
Gucci and its designers
Everything started in 1921, when Guccio Gucci left the Savoy Hotel in London and founded a company completely Italian, specialized in small leather goods, gloves and bags. Thanks to icons of the ‘60s and ‘70s, from Maria Callas to Audrey Hepburn, who chose the brand with the double “G”, the brand immediately found the definitive momentum to become a prêt-à-porter label. The first Gucci catwalk show was in 1981 and the city of choice was its beloved Florence.
The first great aesthetic evolution arrived with Tom Ford who became creative director, across all sectors in 1994. Ford’s Gucci woman was sensual, an emblem of ‘90s style from leather elements and metallic inserts. After his farewell, Frida Giannini arrived who was already employed in 2002 as an accessory and bag designer at Gucci. Her level of research amongst the Gucci archives led to the revival of iconic items, like the (New) Jackie and the Flora pattern.
The latest change arrived in 2015 when Alessandro Michele was presented as the new Creative Director, having been employed under Tom Ford, for many he was an unknown choice with a history only in accessories. In just a few collections, Michele has recreated the cult colors of Gucci, green and red, and revisited the past but with the spirit of the present day and inclined to a gender-fluid aesthetic.
Bamboo Bag
The first success of the house, this bag is characterized by the bamboo handle and clasp in the natural material. It was seen for the first time on the big screen on the arm of Ingrid Bergman in Viaggio in Italia and then by Vanessa Redgrave in the famous film Blow Up by Antonioni.
Flora Foulard Print
Another Gucci accessory associated to an icon: Grace Kelly. It was in 1966 when Prince Ranieri of Monaco entered the Gucci shop on Via Montenapoleone in Milan. To mark the occasion Rodolfo Gucci decided to gift an item to the princess and so the flora print was commissioned, designed by Vittorio Accornero. Nine bouquets with butterflies and dragonflies take to the silk cloth well and are equally loved by Grace Kelly and all the young girls that followed her. Today the Flora print is a romantic motif that also embellishes other accessories, like the same Jackie bag.
