Some iconic Gucci bags are the canvas suitcase, the Dionysus bag - with its elegant chain and ornate tiger-head clasp - and the GG Marmont.ĭesigner Alessandro Michele, who stepped into the role of creative director at Gucci in early 2015, staged a revolution by scrapping the brand’s hyper-sexy jet-set vibe for a nerdy, flea-market-romantic, gender-bending cool. They come in many different styles, but a recognizable marker is the GG Supreme canvas pattern. Vintage Gucci handbags are some of the most coveted purses on the market. Taking cues from Sandro Botticelli’s Primavera, with its pattern of flora and insects, it was painted entirely by hand and featured no fewer than 37 colors. Then Grace Kelly, on a visit to the boutique in Milan, inspired Rodolfo Gucci to work with Italian illustrator and Gucci textile designer Vittorio Accornero on the Flora print in 1966. After Jackie Kennedy was seen sporting a slouchy Gucci tote in 1961, it was quickly, officially (and wisely) rechristened the Jackie bag. In the 1950s, Elizabeth Taylor carried one of Gucci’s bamboo-handled tote bags. The purse, which launched in 1947, became Gucci’s first “It” bag. It took 13 hours to make one Gucci Bamboo bag. Soon, Gucci found another solution for problematic leather shortages: bamboo from Japan.īamboo was easily available and could be formed into clever little horseshoe-shaped handles for purses and bags.

Its woven hemp fabric from Naples, produced with a pattern of small interconnected diamonds outlined in brown against a tan background - known as Gucci diamante - was a hit, and was first used on suitcases and other luggage before finding enduring popularity on handbags. In the mid-1930s, a League of Nations embargo against Italy pushed Gucci to experiment with alternatives to imported leather. Today the brand is a giant in the fashion industry - it’s known for its eclectic, creative designs for handbags, shoulder bags, crossbody bags and other bags and accessories.

One of the most recognizable fashion brands and the biggest-selling Italian label in the world, Gucci was founded by Guccio Gucci (1881–1953) in Florence in 1921.

No list of iconic designer purses would be complete without vintage Gucci bags.

Gucci pocketbooks