Gucci

Founded in Florence in 1921 by Guccio Gucci, the firm began as a small workshop specializing in leather goods and luggage. The founder, who had worked as a doorman at London’s Savoy Hotel, brought the equestrian aesthetic of the English aristocracy to Italian leather craftsmanship.

The brand’s technical hallmarks and iconic motifs were born from resourcefulness amid material shortages during the 1930s trade embargoes. When sufficient leather was unavailable, Gucci began using woven hemp, fire-curved bamboo for the handles of the Bamboo bag (1947), and the iconic green-red-green striped webbing inspired by horse saddle girth straps.

Among its most influential contributions to global fashion wardrobes is the Gucci Loafer moccasin with the metal horsebit detail, introduced in 1953. It is the only shoe to be part of the permanent collection of New York’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) thanks to its significance in the history of industrial design.