Gucci, Pucci, Ferragamo & Cavalli: Florence as the Powerhouse of Fashion.

The “Florentine four” Gucci, Pucci, Ferragamo and Cavalli. 

Having recently visited both the Gucci Museum and the Museum of Salvatore Ferragamo, it is clear to see that the legacies of these fashion houses are so proudly represented. Yet, due to their vicinity to the more popular destinations of Florence, like the Uffizi Gallery and the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, their strong Florentine ties remain often undiscovered by the public. 

Salvatore Ferragamo, born in Campania in southern Italy, returned from his apprenticeship in the US to start his company in Florence in 1927. Overhearing a tour by the wife of Salvatore Ferragamo the Junior it was hard not to eavesdrop. She explained how the success of this particular Florentine fashion family is due to the set of business rules established by the family themselves. 

Museo di Salvatore Ferragamo, Author’s own image, 2024.

These regulations ensure that the company doesn’t internally erupt and include rules such as in every third generation only three sons can be hired, they must have a university degree, and even then, with the necessary qualifications they must begin in retail. So far, the Ferragamo’s have managed to keep the business dynasty in check – at least more successfully than we all witnessed in the 2021 documentary style film of the “House of Gucci.”

Guccio Gucci the son of an Italian merchant, after working in the Savoy Hotel in London, returned to Florence to set up his house small luggage store in 1921, using the favoured Tuscan materials. Walking through the mirrored rooms of the Gucci Museum the creativity of the designer lives on, as the numerous shelves of bags and imaginative methods of display creates a kaleidoscope effect. With the museum rooms above the store offering visitors a unique museum experience, providing a runway for the museumgoers themselves to walk on while viewing archival footage from the fashion house. 

Roberto Cavalli, born in Florence, turned to textiles during his education at the Academy of Art in Florence in the 1950s. His father was an Impressionist painter, and his mother was a seamstress with British Vogue reporting him saying: "My dream, maybe because of my family, was to be a painter. I chose in one moment the direction of textiles; from textiles I went to fashion." Since then, Cavalli has gone on to create outfits for Jennifer Lopez, Beyonce, and the Spice Girls, to hosting an exhibition at the MET. 

Marchese Emilio Pucci di Barsento, an Italian aristocrat, and Italian Air Force pilot by profession, was born to one of Florence’s oldest noble families. His collection, now globally recognised as Pucci, shows the inspiration from the Florentine Renaissance with rich colours and vast array of patterns – just look at photos of him wearing his own designs on the ski slopes. 

The Pucci x Fulsap capsule collection. Photo: Vito Fernicola / Courtesy of Pucci (https://www.vogue.com/article/on-the-slopes-in-st-moritz-with-camile-miceli-and-her-pucci-posse )

So, what does Florence bring to the table apart from Michelangelo’s David and Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus? And why does Milan get the reputation of the fashion capital of Italy?

Given that Milan saw the industrialisation of Italy in the 1900s and that the famed Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II has become a focal point for tourists, Milan holds the reins of Italian fashion today, with the bi-annual fashion week being part of the Big Four. While the men’s Florence fashion show, Pitti Uomo, remains a much smaller operation. Within the Palazzo Pitti there is a vast collection of clothing and accessories, as well as fashion show recordings from the 1900s, which were held in the place itself and contributed to other designers rising in popularity. 

Dress from Palazzo Pitti, Authors own image, 2024.

The extent to which the city of Florence influenced Salvatore Ferragamo can be witnessed in the design for his $1000 dollar shows which included pieces with 18-carat gold. Revisiting the birthplace of his company, Ferragamo entrusted the job of detailing the intricate gold details of the shoe to the goldsmiths of Ponte Vecchio before assembling the shoe and returning it to the anonymous American client. 

So, could Florence, commonly known as the birthplace of Renaissance art, also be recognised as the birthplace of the haute couture industry?

Museo di Salvatore Ferragamo, Author’s own image, 2024.