Born From Functional Fashion: Gucci

As of the year 2020, Gucci was the most popular luxury brand on the internet. Its double “G” logo is highly recognized and acclaimed. But Gucci, a historical brand, had its humble beginnings as a functional Italian leather brand long before its ready-to-wear fashion line walked across the runway.

In 1921 Guccio Gucci began crafting his Gucci vision in Italy’s finest leather. The brand started out making saddles and accessories for equestrian riders. Each product was handcrafted and designed. As an up-and-coming luxury company, buonaforma values Gucci’s early relationship with its product. Guccio Gucci and his three sons were directly tied to the creation of their art which is something many brands are missing today. buonaforma believes the fast manufacturing of goods takes away the quality and brand relationship of those goods. What makes a brand luxury is the product's direct connection with its founders. Here at buonaforma every ceramic piece is handcrafted, fired, glazed, and packaged on site.

By the mid-1930’s, Gucci began innovating its product to meet the times. Leather became hard to come by in Italy, so Guccio Gucci started developing an alternative textile. A staple of a luxury brand is quality and new technology woven into the essence of the product. buonaforma is aligned with these luxury brand values by experimenting with ceramic 3D printing technology. Because of circumstance, Gucci developed a hemp fabric printed with its iconic connected diamond pattern. Eventually, in World War II the brand innovated fabric woven from Japanese bamboo. Experimenting gave the brand its versatile designs that are recognizable today. Luxury brands such as Apple and Rolex are constantly innovating and engineering products that keep up with and challenge technology.

Jackson Hole Wyoming is where the majority of buonaforma’s creation process takes place. We continue to keep the values of innovation alive by testing and perfecting glazes completely new to the market. We also constantly tweak our process to ensure that we are creating quality ceramics that radiate modern and timeless elegance.

By 1981, Gucci had introduced its first ready-to-wear collection and the interlocking G logo. However the golden age of Gucci had seemingly dried up over the years. The brand was almost driven into bankruptcy, only being saved by Tom Ford, who at the time, was the newly hired creative director. The market was calling for a change and landscape, and he jumped to the demand introducing an overt sex appeal in the brand. The 90’s were marked by minimalism. By introducing slip dresses and slinky silhouettes, Ford captured and heightened the inner fire of his consumers.

In a world plagued by Target and Marshall’s decor, buonaforma is relighting the fire for one-of-a-kind designs to be introduced into the modern functional home. Our vision is to change the cheap landscape of today, into the elegant future of tomorrow. We want to reintroduce the values of class and quality with each ceramic series we create.

Luxury is not just a physical product but it encapsulates the values of quality, elegance, contemporary design, and innovative thinking. The key to Gucci’s empire is the brand’s roots, which began as functional fashion. After all, life and its physical products should all emulate beauty alongside its functionality.