French actress Sarah Bernhardt would swing by, accompanied by her ever-present Irish red setter, Tosco. On a particularly starry night at The American Bar, she might rub shoulders with fellow actress Lillie Langtry, who kept an apartment there and was (whisper it) a close friend of the Prince of Wales – the future King Edward VII.
Perhaps later, opera singers Adelina Patti and Dame Nellie Melba – for whom chef Auguste Escoffier created the Peach Melba – would pass through the hallowed doors. After all, anyone who was anyone came to The Savoy in London.
All of this, the comings and goings of the jeunesse dorée, would be watched with an observant eye by a young man by the name of Guccio Gucci, who would go on to become one of the most influential names in luxury and fashion.
But, back then, in 1897 at The Savoy London, he was a nobody, a lowly porter ferrying the luggage of the rich, famous, and infamous from motorcar to suite; fingers gripping the handles of bags and brushing against the texture of various leathers, learning even then what made luxury luxurious, all the while coming to the realisation that he could do this – and do it better.
Guccio returned to Florence in 1902 and, in 1921, opened the first Gucci boutique on Via della Vigna Nuova. At his small luggage atelier, he would meld Tuscan materials and craftsmanship with the sophisticated English aesthetic he admired, laying the groundwork for the perfect marriage of travel and luxury that became synonymous with the brand, which continues to lead and innovate to this day.
As the decades progressed, so too did the technology available to refine and expand his craft. The advent of canvas in the late 1930s offered a new material on which the House’s emblematic diamond motif could be printed, evolving into the signature GG monogram so coveted today.
Trollies, suitcases, trunks, duffels, backpacks, weekenders, and totes bearing the distinctive logo became part of the Gucci Porter and Gucci Savoy collections, named in Guccio’s honour, along with the classic Ophidia line, valigeria repertoires that bypass the airport concourse in favour of the first-class lounge or the tarmac upon which the private jet awaits.
And then there are the accessories. Beauty, watch and jewellery cases, racket holders, hat boxes, passport covers, even luggage stickers, the vibes of which hark back beyond Guccio’s reign to the Grand Tours of the 17th and 18th centuries, evoking an era that is at once bygone as well as fully conversant with the now.
Speaking of the now(ish). To quote Nigel from The Devil Wears Prada, “What they did, what they created was greater than art because you live your life in it.”
Except, with Gucci luggage, we trust it enough, desire it enough, respect it enough to put our lives into it, creating in our ownership of such iconic pieces the deliciously anticipatory feeling of belonging to a jet-set world in which every trip has the glamour of a Saturday night at The Savoy, 1897.
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