Gucci gets a lot of love. Celebrities like Jared Leto go gaga for creative director Alessandro Michele’s vision of magpie glam. Tom Ford’s archival sexed-up Gucci pieces from when he revived the house from 1995 year to 2004 also have a viral appeal. But what about Gucci before the heavyweight designers were brought in? I never paid attention to Gucci before Ford’s era, but since the film House of Gucci has entered my sphere, I’ve been exploring the archives from the ’70s and ’80s.
For the uninitiated, House of Gucci is based on the true story of the Gucci family in the ‘70s to the mid-’90s. The plot is a juicy trifecta of sexy, money, and murder. Lady Gaga plays Patrizia Reggiani, the ex-wife of Maurizio Gucci, who hires a hitman to assassinate her ex-husband. (Reggiani, 72, was released from prison in 2016.) Adam Driver stars as Maurizio, along with Jared Leto as the balding, corduroy suit-wearing Paolo Gucci. The film has received the stamp of approval from the label, who gave the blessing to the director Ridley Scott and access to their archives.
With all of this attention surrounding the film, I have become a bit hungry for that classic, monied glamour. The clothes remind me of WASPs, but infused with Italian passion: A hardware horsebit here, buffed leather there, and big ole monogram all-over. The classic pieces have endured. The leather loafers, Jackie bag, bamboo handles, and floral silk scarves are still perennially Gucci—and all were worn religiously by Reggiani. In the film, Gaga makes a case for that polished attire with scarves knotted delicately under the chin and jewelry worn over the collar of a black turtleneck. The old Gucci look evokes restrained, genetically inherited taste.