Paolo Gucci, 64, Prestigious, if Litigious, Designer
Paolo Gucci was a former Gucci design chief and a key player in the notorious internal disputes of the Italian leather goods family. He died Tuesday at a London hospital. He was 64.
The hospital did not give any cause of death.
Guccio Gucci’s grandson, Mr Guccio Gucci (a former London hotel dishwasher and saddle seller who founded the company in 1923), was Mr Gucci. Aldo Gucci, Guccio Gucci’s younger son, established Fifth Avenue’s American beachhead in 1953.
Paolo Gucci was the chief designer and played an important role in the rapid growth of the double G logo. The familiar double snaffle bit, the interlocking double-G logo and the red, white, and black striped webbing motif were the hallmarks of chic fashion in the 1960s & 1970s.
The original Gucci line of handbags, shoes, and leather luggage was made from finely crafted leather. Mr Gucci claimed 80 per cent of the Gucci catalogue’s design credits as it grew.
He was also involved in family feuds. They began with a dispute between Rodolfo’s uncle and his father, both now deceased.
Paolo Gucci was fired twice by his father from the American subsidiary and by his uncle from the parent company. Investcorp Inc now owns the latter.
Following a raucous 1982 company board meeting, Mr Gucci filed assault charges against his brothers Roberto and Giorgio and his first cousin, Maurizio Gucci. He also filed a $13million suit against his father and them. Later, he provided information that led to the 1986 imprisonment of his father at age 81 for trying to evade American taxes.
After a lengthy trademark battle, he won the right to market the Paolo Gucci line. However, the effort was stopped in 1987 when he sold his stake in the company for $45million.
Mr Gucci spent the money twice: once when he had it and again when he didn’t. In 1993, Gucci declared bankruptcy and claimed $90 million in unpaid debts.
His survivors included his brothers Elizabetta (from his first marriage) and Patrizia (from Italy); Gemma (from Manhattan), with Jenny; and Alicia (and a newborn son Gabriel), both from Sussex, England with Penny Armstrong.