Tung, Savio, 138
Tuscan character, 8, 9
Tuttle, Allan, 81, 103, 145, 186, 187, 314, 324
Tyler, Richard, 157
Ungaro, Emanuel, 332
uniforms, 36, 112–13
United Nations (U.N.), 195
United States, 20, 25, 183
department stores in, 25, 70, 135, 151–55, 160, 166, 198, 204, 266
in Gulf War, 195
see also specific cities
Valcavi, Giovanni, 237
Valentino (fashion designer), 7, 25, 95, 165, 207, 249, 332
Valentino boutique, 14
Valletta, Amber, 259
Van Cleef, 67, 327
Vanguard International Manufacturing, 69
Vanity Fair, 170, 176, 267
Varty, Keith, 157
Vendôme Luxury Group, 257, 263, 264, 265
Venice, 17, 19, 103
painting of, 168, 219–20
Venona, Renato, 271
Verde, Manolo, 96
Versace, Donatella, 177
Versace, Gianni, 3, 95, 152, 157, 165, 167, 249
Versace, Santo, 249
Victory (boat), 112
Viersee Italia, 236–37
Villa Bellosguardo, 169, 183
Vira, see Creole
Viscomi, Annibale, 147
Vitali, Giovanni, 13–14, 28, 36, 37
Vitali, Grimalda Gucci, 10, 12, 14, 15, 24
inheritance of, 28–29
Vogue, 170
Vreeland, Diana, 39
Wagons Lits, 10
Wall Street Journal, 111, 267, 269
Warhol, Andy, 172
watches, Gucci and, 41, 67–69, 144, 204, 214, 215–16, 256, 268
Weinberg, Serge, 322–23
Weisberg and Castro, 62, 75
Winklehaussen, Alessandra, see Gucci, Alessandra Winklehaussen
Women’s Wear Daily, 75, 86, 87–88, 174–75
Woolard, Paul P., 39
World War I, 10
World War II, 18–19, 50
Wunderman, Severin, 67–69, 204, 214, 215–16, 253, 256, 268, 330
Yoffie, David, 330
Yves Saint Laurent (YSL), 112, 152, 154, 323, 326–29
Zamasport, 152, 170
Zanotta, Gian, 208, 211
Zaoui, Michael, 311–12, 314, 316, 318–21
Zegna, Ermenegildo, 170
Ziegel, Arnold J., 200
Zorzi, Delfo (“Hagen”), 210–11, 233, 277
Acknowledgments
Many people shared with me their experiences with the Gucci company and the Gucci family. I value their trust in me, for their associations with Gucci inevitably provoked deep emotions and lasting impressions. Key people who contributed to this book include Gucci’s CEO Domenico De Sole and creative director Tom Ford, who granted repeated interviews between 1998 and 2000. Former Gucci creative director Dawn Mello also spent hours with me between New York, Milan, and Paris, describing her work alongside Maurizio Gucci. Andrea Morante offered a wealth of information and unusual insights into the personalities of the players. Investcorp chairman Nemir Kirdar recounted his own dramatic story, how he came to underwrite Maurizio’s vision for Gucci, and how he painfully realized all hope was gone for achieving that dream together. Former Investcorp executive Bill Flanz also gave generously of his own experience, time, and contacts, helping me reach a broad range of people who in turn added their own dimensions to this story. Rick Swanson, currently at Gucci and formerly at Investcorp, painted vivid pictures of Investcorp’s experiences with Maurizio Gucci, mixing priceless anecdotes with concrete facts and figures. Gucci’s CFO, Robert Singer, described the adventure of taking Gucci public. Among other former Investcorp executives who helped are Paul Dimitruk, Bob Glaser, Elias Hallak, Johannes Huth, and Sencar Toker. Thanks also to Larry Kessler, Jo Crossland, and their staff.
In Florence, fashion historian Aurora Fiorentini’s painstaking research to piece together the Gucci archive has been invaluable. Fiorentini shared her discoveries—from official documents unearthed from state archives to historic bags collected one by one from previous customers, to accounts from local artisans. Gucci’s press offices around the world under the supervision of Giulia Masla cheerfully and efficiently helped me locate printed and photographic material and coordinate a daunting series of interviews. Claudio Degl’Innocenti shared his idiosyncratic view of Gucci’s production and manufacturing side, while Dante Ferrari helped take me back to what it was like in the old days. Many others, not all of whose names appear in the pages of this book, also recounted their unique experiences.
Roberto Gucci deserves particular thanks for his gracious cooperation—even though there are large parts of the Gucci story he would much rather forget. Giorgio Gucci provided me with printed material about the family business and his father, Aldo, while Paolo Gucci’s daughter Patrizia helped answer some of my questions.
Although Italian penitentiary officials denied my requests to interview Patrizia Reggiani Martinelli in Milan’s San Vittore prison, she corresponded with me from her cell, while her mother, Silvana, tirelessly answered my questions. Paola Franchi also invited me to her home several times to recall her years with Maurizio.
Some of the most valuable recollections came from Maurizio’s loyal assistant, Liliana Colombo, and his driver, Luigi Pirovano, remarkable people who became a kind of protective family for Maurizio. Maurizio’s lawyer, Fabio Franchini made available precisely recorded information and helped me know the passionate yet vulnerable Maurizio he had grown fond of and tried to help. Severin Wunderman recounted stories for hours, enabling me to enrich my portrait of him, Aldo, and others. Logan Bentley Lessona, Aldo Gucci’s first public relations professional, opened her memories and her files.
Enrica Pirri shared treasured memories of her more than twenty years with the Gucci family, with whom her ties still run deep.
With respect to the murder investigation and trial of Patrizia Reggiani, former Criminalpol chief Filippo Ninni, prosecutor Carlo Nocerino, Giancarlo Togliatti, and Judge Renato Lodovici Samek helped me retrace the story and understand the complexities of the Italian judicial system, while my friend and colleague Damiano Iovino became an invaluable and entertaining bench-mate during the long hours of testimony.
None of these experiences would have ever found their way into a book if not for my agent, Ellen Levine, and my editor, Betty Kelly, two remarkable women who spotted the appeal of the Gucci story. Their interest and support along the way were invaluable.
I want to thank my parents, David Forden and Sally Carson, for their constant encouragement, including my mother’s editorial advice. My appreciation also to my husband, Camillo Franchi Scarselli, who urged me to take the leap into writing this book and supported my efforts. Our daughter, Julia, learned to accept my commitment with grace.
My good friend Alessandro Grassi gave me a congenial office “home” in which to write the book. I owe special thanks to friends and colleagues around the world who put me up during my interviewing trips to different cities: in New York, Eileen Daspin and Marina Luri; in London, Anne and Guy Collins, Constance Klein, Karen Joyce, and Marco Franchini; in Paris, Janet Ozzard, Gregory Viscusi, and Penny Horner. Thanks also to Teri Agins, Lisa Anderson, Stefano and LeeAnn Bortolussi, Frank Brooks, Aurelia Forden, and Thomas Moran, for help and encouragement along the way, as well as to my assistants, Chiara Barbieri and Marzia Tisio, who transcribed miles of interview tapes. In Rome, AP bureau chief Dennis Redmont and Sen. Francesca Scopelliti did all they could to help me try to get an interview with Patrizia Reggiani. In Paris, Marie-France Pochna offered brilliant insights on two French businessmen: Bernard Arnault and François Pinault. Thanks to Patrick McCarthy and Fairchild Publications, my former employers, for giving me the leave of absence that permitted me to write the book, and in particular to Melissa Comito and Gloria Spriggs for quick and cheerful photo and archive research. Finally, thanks to some unforgettable mentors from my Mount Holyoke Colleg
e days, where I realized that writing could become a way of life: Caroline Collette, Richard Johnson, Mark Kramer, and Mary Young.
INTERVIEWS:
Carlo Bacci
Alberta Ballerini
David Bamber
Silvana Barbieri Reggiani
Sergio Bassi
Aureliano Benedetti
Logan Bentley Lessona
Patrizio Bertelli
Carlo Bonini
George Borababy
Armando Branchini
Carlo Bruno
Richard Buckley
Roberta Cassol
Rita Cimino
Liliana Colombo
Aldo Coppola
Pilar Crespi
Enrico Cucchiani
Antonietta Cuomo
Vittorio D’Aiello
Gianni Dedola
Claudio Degl’Innocenti
Rafaelle Della Valle
Domenico De Sole
Paul Dimitruk
Lisa Fatland
Franco Fieramosca
Aurora Fiorentini
Stefania Fiorentini
Dante Ferrari
Nicole Fischelis
William Flanz
Tom Ford
Paola Franchi
Fabio Franchini
Carmine Gallo
Francesco Gittardi
Bob Glaser
Pierre Godé
Giorgio Gucci
Guccio Gucci
Patrizia Gucci
Roberto Gucci
Orietta Gucci
Junichi Hakamaki
Elias Hallak
Johannes Huth
Joan Kaner
Claire Kent
Nemir Kirdar
Richard Lambertson
Concietta Lanciaux
Eleanore Leavitt
Carlo Magello
Cedric Magnelia
Maria Mannetti Farrow
Mario Massetti
Dawn Mello
Suzy Menkes
Nando Miglio
Andrea Morante
Alberto Morini
Filippo Ninni
Carlo Nocerino
Giuseppe Onorato
Carlo Orsi
Luigi Pagano
Gaetano Pecorella
Anita Pensotti
Gian Vittorio Pillone
Franca Pinzauti
Enrica Pirri
Gail Pisano
Luigi Pirovano
Carmello Pistone
Marie-France Pochna
Patrizia Reggiani Martinelli
Dante Razzano
Renato Ricci
Renato Lodovici Samek
Franco Savorelli
Robert Singer
Chantal Skibinska
Amy Spindler
John Studzinsky
Cristina Subert
Rick Swanson
Burt Tansky
Salvo Testa
Giancarlo Togliatti
Sencar Toker
Pietro Traini
Paolo Trofino
Allan Tuttle
Franco Uggeri
Dominique Vananty
Serge Weinberg
Severin Wunderman
Michael Zaoui
About the Author
SARA GAY FORDEN is the editor in chief of the Italian magazine L’UNA. She lives in Milan with her young daughter.
Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins authors.
Praise for
The House of Gucci
“I had the opportunity to see the book in advance and I think it’s well-written. Ms. Forden certainly conducted excellent research, and has done a great job in trying to understand the history and most recent events at Gucci. A lot of passion went into this book.”
—Domenico De Sole, chairman and CEO of Gucci Group, in Women’s Wear Daily
“Fashion has never been so dramatic—and dangerous. The saga of three generations of the Gucci family opens with an execution-style murder in Milan and penetrates the world of one of the hottest fashion labels of our time. Fashion insider Sara Forden spins the tale of how a bunch of greedy, bickering Guccis lost control of the empire that made GG synonymous with loafers.”
—Teri Agins, Wall Street Journal fashion writer and author of The End of Fashion
“Ms. Forden has whipped up a mixture of family drama and high finance into a tasty and complex narrative…. This is a business book you will zip through like a novel.”
—The Economist
“Glamour, greed, sex, style, and very, very good leather goods—what more can you ask for (besides a 30 percent discount)?”
—Michael Gross, author of Model
“The House of Gucci is a penetrating chronicle of the rise and fall of a family business, one that shows clearly how even big, successful family firms often can’t survive without professional management and outside capital—and how the personalities of the founders’ descendants can make selling not just prudent but inevitable.”
—Wall Street Journal
“Forden’s complex story is hard to put down and easy to understand. Making light work of the labyrinthine family and its steamy feuds, she has an eye for picaresque detail and a head for figures…. While uncritical prose and vanity publishing rule the fashion world, Forden gets that famous Gucci bar-and-bit between her teeth—and gallops along.”
—International Herald Tribune
“The House of Gucci isn’t just a true-crime book; it’s a business book. Forden was the Milan bureau chief for Women’s Wear Daily, and her connections to the Italian fashion industry have helped produce a detailed and gossipy book filled with firsthand accounts of the fashion business…[and] delivers an intimate view of a family, a company, and an industry.”
—Brill’s Content
“Readers won’t have to be interested only in the worlds of business and fashion to appreciate the gossip purveyed here.”
—Booklist
“Riveting reading.”
—Cosmopolitan
Credits
Cover design by Bradford Foltz
Copyright
THE HOUSE OF GUCCI. Copyright © 2001, 2000 by Sara Gay Forden. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
FIRST PERENNIAL EDITION PUBLISHED 2001.
The Library of Congress has catalogued the hardcover edition as follows:
Forden, Sara Gay.
The house of Gucci: a sensational story of murder, madness, glamour, and greed / by Sara Gay Forden.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-688-16313-0 (hardcover: alk. paper)
1. Gucci (Firm). 2. Gucci, Maurizio, 1948–1995. 3. Businessmen—Italy—Biography. 4. Clothing trade—Italy. 5. Trials (Murder)—Italy. I. Title.
HD9940.I84 G84 2000
364.15'23'094521—dc21 00-040954
ISBN 0-06-093775-0 (pbk.)
EPub Edition © June 2012 ISBN: 9780062222671
01 02 03 04 05 WB/QW 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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* Varying accounts have said he worked as a dishwasher, a bellboy, a waiter, and even a maître d’, but the hotel has no records of his employment.
The House of Gucci Page 51