Alessandro Michele recently staged his latest Gucci collection

In the middle of Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles, creative director Alessandro Michele recently staged his latest Gucci collection under the title "Love Parade". The location could hardly have been more suitable, because the 100-year history of the company reads like an Oscar-worthy script. The darkest chapter has now been filmed by Ridley Scott. "House of Gucci" with Lady Gaga and Adam Driver hits cinemas on November 24th. In the beginning it was the classic story of the rise of the people: at the end of the 19th century a young man named Guccio Gucci set off from Florence for London to try his luck there. He found a job in the famous Hotel Savoy and was fascinated by the precious luggage of the guests. Back home, he got into the leather goods business himself. In 1921 he opened his first small shop in Florence. And the family followed his passion. His three sons joined the company. Above all, Aldo Gucci, the oldest, drove the development forward. So he introduced a Gucci symbol that is still valid today: the green and red stripes that go back to saddle girths. In 1947 a bag with a bamboo handle came on the market, which would become another trademark. Until a Gucci shoe finally made a status symbol at the end of the 1960s: a loafer with a horse bit clip over the instep. The third generation of the family was already active in the company. From then on it got ugly. One argued, intrigued, litigated, disinherited. And that continuously and in front of the public. Sara Gay Forden describes in great detail how toxic this family feud was in her 2001 biography "Gucci - Fashion, Murder and Business". At the beginning of the 80s, Maurizio Gucci, a grandson of the company founder, prepared to emerge from the dispute as a new, strong man. The label's aura had now faded. An own, cheaper produced bag line had flooded the mass market and the luxury image was scratched. In addition, new names such as Giorgio Armani and Gianni Versace had risen. Maurizio Gucci tackled all of these problems, for the first time in the company's history, bringing in management staff and shareholders from outside. But the latter soon turned against him. He, who had previously driven out all family members, now had to sell his shares to the investment company Investcorp himself in 1993. From then on, Gucci existed without a single Gucci. Tom Ford, a smart Texan, rose from design director to creative director and quickly laid the foundation for a look that drove the fashion world into ecstasy. A cool sexyness, with hipsters, lasciviously opened silk blouses and velvet coats. He was assisted by Domenico De Sole, a lawyer who had advised Gucci's family disputes for years and was now CEO.