Gucci, A Legend in the World of Luxury

Gucci is an iconic name in the world of luxury, with Flora being one of the most loved of all Gucci icons: Flora was a special commission for Princess Grace of Monaco, following a visit to the Milan Gucci store.

On the Princesses visit one of the purchases was a "bamboo bag", Rodolfo Gucci insisted the Princess choose a gift to go with the bag, the Princess chose a scarf but Rodolfo Gucci did not believe there was one fitting enough for the Princess, and contacted designer Vittorio Accornero with instructions to design a print for the Princess. Accornero set about the task and on the following day showed Rodolfo a template of multicolor, "Flora", little did either men know that this would not only end up on a product for a Princess, but that it would go on to be much more and the name "Flora" would become an icon.

European women treasured the "Flora" name, it was something that was passed on from mother to daughter, and Caroline of Monaco wore a blouse in the "Flora" print of the scarf given to her mother along with Frida Giannini whose mother also fell in love with the "Flora" print whilst in Rome. In the summer of 2005 the "Flora" print was brought back to life when the print was released on canvas bags, the bags an immediate success, sparked variations, the pattern being rescaled, abstracted or re-colored and was seen on print dresses in 2006 and on jewelry and evening bags, proof of a Gucci icon continuing 40 years.

The bamboo handled bag of Gucci`s that the Princess purchased, and which led to the design of "Flora", was designed in 1947 in a back room at Gucci by skilled artisans, who had also to bear in mind that this was a time of war and there were shortages in materials. The standards of Gucci did not drop even during these hard times and while the bamboo handle was a solution, it went on to become an icon of Gucci that was a piece of history when it came to design, and would lead to patterns inspired by bamboo featuring on a multitude of products bearing the Gucci brand name.

"Flora" and "Bamboo" are just two of the most famous icons of Gucci, today the Gucci name is itself an icon that is associated with luxury and the very best in life, women all over the world purchase Gucci, in the form of scarves, jewelry and handbags, down to umbrella handles, hats and fragrances.