Made*In*Italy*On*Line

Newsletter - February 1996

Mod about Gucci

"We get phone calls from Japan and they ask if we keep that particular mini-backpack in purple suede or orange pigskin!" says an amazed sales assistant of the Bologna Gucci shop. The large Milan store on Via Montenapoleone had to be closed five times during the fashion week because of overcrowding. In London many items must be booked months in advance: salespeople still remember when a woman burst into tears in the Bond Street shop last fall on being told they had sold out of low-slung velvet hipsters.

The venerable house of Gucci is at its heyday again. But how such a definite turnaround could occur? After decades of family feuding and internecine battles to control the multimillionaire company, things began to change in 1989 when Maurizio Gucci, mysteriously assassinated in Milan last year, became president. He started a repositioning strategy which included the drastic closing of 820 outlets and therefore limiting distribution to the 180 directly-owned or franchised Gucci boutiques. Product underwent massive "restructuring" too.

Maurizio hired Dawn Mello, now president of luxurious Bergdorf Goodman, as executive vice-president and creative director. She immediately pulled off all those GG canvas bags, which had become the symbol of tastelessness in the Eighties and reintroduced high-quality classics such as the bamboo-handled bag and the Gucci loafer, updating them to the Nineties zeitgeist through the use of brilliant colours and new sizes. But return to quality meant also a consequent increase in Gucci prices of approx. 20%. This, in the short run, together with the deliberate shut-down of too many stores made the company lose money and left room for competitors. Worldwide recession did the rest. Soon Maurizio and Investcorp, the Bahrain-based merchant bank who had a 50% stake in Gucci, clashed over costs until the Arabs bought Maurizio out in 1993 and, for the first time ever, Gucci had only one owner.

Investcorp, who has a significant know-how in the luxury market,reopened Gucci wholesale business to satisfy the ever increasing demand for the house's hot accessories. For instance, in the U.S. Gucci opened shop-in-the-shops at upscale department stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman.

Designer Tom Ford, working at Gucci since 1990, was appointed creative director. Born in Austin, Texas, after a brief career as a tv commercials' actor, he studied Interior Design at Parson's School in Los Angeles, New York and then Paris, where he later worked in the press office at Chloe. Back in New York, he was an assistant designer at Perry Ellis before Mello's calling. Now Ford oversees everything concerning the carefully built corporate image from ad photos to window displays and therefore is the main responsible of the recent Gucci frenzy, which officially began on March 5th last year with the autumn/winter '95/'96 collection.

Fashion editors and buyers applauded the ultimate must-haves: midnight-blue mohair coats, patent leather bags and olografic loafers. Models with teased hair and dark-lined make-up looked like a modern version of Julie Christie, Angie Dickinson or even "Charlie's Angels". Soon journalists talked of "Mod Age" but Ford refuses comparisons with the past: he points out that there is more of a tendency towards a more contemporary and relaxed chic. "Instead of total outfits -he says- people now want single, easy, but beautifully made, pieces". Madonna was one of the first to adopt this modern look: at the MTV Awards she was dressed exactly like supermodel Amber Valletta in the Gucci ad campaign. Immediately the jetset followed: Elle MacPherson ordered the clothes for the Fashion Cafe launch while Jamie Lee Curtis bought a lot of shirts for her latest movie. Hollywood celebs like Anjelica Houston and Sharon Stone are now regulars of the recently refurbished 10,000 sq.ft. Gucci store on Rodeo Drive.

Last October fashion cognoscenti and world's most important buyers flocked again to the eagerly awaited Gucci show. For spring/summer '96 Ford presented a successful remix of cutting edge pieces: from the sexy black-lace dress worn by Linda Evangelista, which will be this season's "dress to have", to dazzling lime-green silk shirts. A whole new collection of hip accessories like coloured python shoulder bags or double G-logo sandals will make a big hit among fashion victims all around the world, no doubt.

Taking advantage of current ravings, the Florence-based company is going to expand its presence worldwide: as part of a three-year plan 31 shops are scheduled to open mostly in the Far East and Europe while existing stores are being renovated in order to be consistent with the new style. Milan's flagship reopened last October: modern elements like tv screens showing Gucci catwalks are mixed with sober walnut furniture. A wall covered with photos of special clients - from movie stars like John Wayne to royals like the Dukes of Windsor - stands as a memento of the company's glorious tradition. This blend reflects the firm's philosophy: finding the right balance between classic-continuing and fashion forward products.

The success in fashion may partly explain why Gucci shares did so well on Wall Street: from a $ 22 price on the first day of trading they cost $ 39 forty days later and experts say they will increase again in 1996. According to CS First Boston, total sales in fiscal 1995, which ends January 31st 1996, are expected to soar up to $ 451.4 million ( an outstanding 90% increase when compared to 1994). Gucci president and CEO Domenico De Sole stated that "fiscal 1995 will be a record year for the company". And it all started when former waiter Guccio Gucci opened a tiny leather shop on Via del Parione, Florence in 1922...

Gian Marco Ansaloni