In the Name of Gucci

by Patricia Gucci

The gripping family drama--and never-before-told love story--surrounding the rise and fall of the late Aldo Gucci, the man who is responsible for making the Italian fashion label the powerhouse it is today, as told by his daughter.

Patricia Gucci was born a secret: the love child whose birth could have spelled ruination for her father, Aldo Gucci. It was 1963, and the halcyon days for the "must-have" brand of Hollywood and European royalty. Patricia's mother gave birth in secret in London before she was smuggled back to Vatican City and hidden from the fashion world, the media, and the rest of the Gucci family. Aldo couldn't afford a public scandal, but he could not resist his feelings for Patricia's mother, Bruna, the paramour he first met when she worked for him as a shopgirl in Rome.      

In In the Name of Gucci, Patricia Gucci charts her parents' untold love story, relying on her own childhood memories as well as an archive of love letters and interviews with her mother. She interweaves her parents' story with that of her own relationship with her father--from a little girl who remained a secret for eighteen months and wasn't publicly acknowledged for her first decade, through her rise to become Gucci's ambassador and Aldo's protégé, to the moment when his three sons, who betrayed him in a famous palace coup, were disinherited and Patricia--once considered the shame of Gucci--was made sole universal heir. It is an epic tale of love and loss, betrayal and loyalty, sweeping among Italy, England, and America throughout the tumultuous years during the rise and fall of the House of Gucci.

Genres: Fashion, Biography, Nonfiction, Autobiography, Memoir, History, True Crime

304 pages, Hardcover

First published September 9, 2014

Reviews

[Book Haunt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gucci is a world-class Italian fashion empire that has been around for almost 100 years. While there may be people in the outback or a comparatively isolated place that have not heard of Gucci, I think I’m safe in saying that most of you reading this aren’t included in that group. I myself love all things fashion so I was immediately drawn to this book.

In the Name of Gucci is a heartfelt memoir penned by Patricia Gucci, Aldo Gucci’s daughter. Between these pages, Patricia Gucci tenderly recollects the love between her parents. She tells us of the times that she and her mother Bruna, spent with Aldo, along with the times that they didn’t get to spend with him because Aldo was already married with three sons. Aldo’s relationship with Bruna was not only an adulterous relationship, but one that was punishable by law in Italy in the 1960s. But that didn’t stop Aldo Gucci. When he laid eyes on young Bruna working in one of his stores, he was unable to resist her and Bruna found herself swept away by this older, charming and very well-known man. It was a relationship that had to be hidden from the public eye but it lasted decades.

As Patricia researched her book, she had a hard time getting her mother to open up. Bruna, a quiet and devoted woman, did eventually share some anecdotes along with a bundle of love letters she had kept close to her heart. While the matter of a relationship between a married man in his 50s and a young girl of 20 is far from ideal, Patricia manages to see past the heartache that she, her mother and Aldo’s family must have felt as she delves into the love that her parents had for one another. The memories from her childhood are of a loving mother and father. This is surprising because Aldo was an absentee father the majority of the time and Bruna was understandably, a sad and withdrawn woman.

Patricia also outlines the history behind the making of a fashion empire that still exists today. Her grandfather Guccio Gucci went from being a page at the Savoy Hotel to being the founder of the Gucci brand. She also details the family squabbles that took place within the company, Aldo’s time in prison and her eventual involvement in the company. Patricia Gucci has written a book that has it all, love, glamour, success, adultery, betrayal, crime, etc. This book is a very thoughtful family portrait. I found myself thoroughly immersed in the Gucci story and I recommend that you add this to the top of your nonfiction reading list!

I want to thank the publisher (Crown Publishing) for providing me with the ARC through NetGalley for an honest review.

[Louise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Patricia Gucci diplomatically tells her parents’ story. Today, our sympathies are with Bruna Palumbo, but in 1958, the advances Aldo Gucci made on his vulnerable young employee were viewed very differently. Bruna surely had mixed emotions about her debonair and wealthy boss as she saw Aldo Gucci’s temper flare over things like a finger print on a display case, but her fiancé had no better self-control.

It was a time and place where adultery and/or divorce had big consequences, so, after the inevitable pregnancy, Bruna’s choices are restricted. Patricia, tells the story of her hidden (more accurately, out of sight) family life as her father, who is very much in the public eye, built one of the first world class brands.

Patricia quotes her father’s letters as evidence of his love for her mother, but this couple doesn’t seem to have much in common. When he visits they often bicker. He is a gregarious with great sense of humor. She hates socializing and seems continually depressed. Perhaps he liked that she didn’t ask him for much.

While Bruna is present in her daughter’s life, she is as emotionally distant as her father. She makes decisions that totally impact Patricia without explanation. Boarding school comes as a relief.

There is sufficient detail for a book of this nature on how Gucci fell into outsider’s hands, but not enough to understand what Aldo Gucci did and did not know/do about the tax evasion.

There are surely other stories to tell, for instance those of Patricia’s half brothers. Did they betray their father in response to what is described as an authoritarian upbringing or in loyalty to their mother? What are they doing today?

The prose is understated, particularly for a book about a family whose name is a synonym for glamour and style.

[Gracey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Patricia Gucci is the daughter of the late Aldo Gucci (yes, that Aldo Gucci) and Aldo's long-time mistress, Bruna. Ms. Gucci would have you think that her parents' story is a love story for the ages. I'm not so sure. From when I'm sitting, in the year 2016, it appears to be more of a story of sexual harassment on the part of 53 y.o. Aldo Gucci against his 20 y.o. secretary, Bruna. In spite of what Gucci wrote, and she did her best to spin it, I can't help but feel that Bruna was essentially forced into the relationship, forced to have Patricia and then forced to stay with Aldo until she felt she had no other options.

On the plus side, Aldo rewarded Bruna for her "loyalty" and named his illegitimate daughter as his sole heir. So, yay, money, I guess?

Really though, I did think this was an interesting book. Gucci isn't the greatest writer and her dad being a bit (lot?) of a jackass made her have to spin some things, but she did her level best. And she was respectful in her spinning and treated both her parents very gently when she very well could not have. It's maybe not the most honest memoir, but it definitely kept my interest. I just wish the author had gone more in-depth as to why she was so loyal to an absentee father that she saw only one week a month. Because she is definitely loyal.

[Ruci Tukana · Rating 4 out of 5]

A heart- warming memoir that shows a woman's loyalty to a man and a man's never - ending love to the two important women in his life!

Well penned by Patricia ..' Ever since I was a little girl, I'd been perfectly content in the knowledge that even if he couldn't physically be with me, Papa loved me and would always be back. That was enough!'

And this one sums it all:
..' He may not be the great father in the world but he was the only one I had !'.

How I love this book!😍😍

[Sarah - All The Book Blog Names Are Taken · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a roller coaster of a ride. This one is tough to rate, I have to think on it for a bit. Full review to come.

++++++++++++

Check out my full review on my blog:

http://allthebookblognamesaretaken.bl...

www.facebook.com/AllTheBookBlogNamesA...

[Fiction Addition Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honest story of the Gucci family - lovely book with fabulous photographs

[Josh Nobles]

i thought the book was going to be about gucci products but guccci was a name

[Alexandra Alexyna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Când am văzut autoarea cărții am crezut în prima faza că e vorba de acea Patricia care l-a omorât pe moștenitorul imperiului Gucci. De fapt, dincolo de coincidenta de nume, Patricia Gucci e fiica, aparent ilegitimă lui Aldo ( acesta se îndrăgostește de mama Patriciei și o concepe pe aceasta într-o perioadă în care divorțul nu era reglementat în Italia iar adulterul era pedepsit cu închisoarea. Dar și-a recunoscut fiica din prima clipa), unul din fii celui care fondează dinastia Gucci și duce numele la un alt nivel.
Deși e catalogata biografie, cartea e scrisă într-un stil relativ ușurel și ne duce pe urmele lui Aldo, din Italia până în Statele Unite și suntem martorii nașterii unui brand ce a devenit sinonim cu luxul. Totodată suntem martorii poveștii de dragoste dintre Aldo și Bruna, mama Patriciei și femeia ce a stat alaturi de Aldo peste 30 de ani chiar dacă relația lor nu a fost din prima oficială. Aldo era căsătorit în momentul în care a cunoscut-o pe aceasta, iar divorțul nu a fost reglementat decât mult mai târziu. Pe parcursul cărții suntem martorii flerului in afaceri a lui Aldo, a caracterului acestuia inclusiv în perioada în care a fost încarcerat (a făcut 1 an și 1 zi de pușcărie pentru frauda), precum și decăderea psihica a Brunei pe care o macina vinovăția faptului că era amanta, a faptului că cei doi ajung in cele din urmă să se căsătorească. Moartea lui Aldo, datorata cancerului,dar la o vârstă înaintată nu va șterge niciodată moștenirea și numele pe care acesta l-a creat în industria modei, iar cartea este un adevărat tribut adus marelui titan Aldo Gucci.

[Carson Harkrader · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am always on the lookout for a good memoir by a female author who has lived an interesting life, and I very much enjoyed this book by Patricia Gucci! The book is well written, and is clever in the way it tells the life of Patricia's parents and grandparents in a very personal way, weaving their stories with sections about how the history affected her personally. I felt connected to Patricia as well as her family throughout the book, and she managed to tell a decades long story with warmth and perspective, weaving the facts of her family's history and personalities with her own life and development. She had clearly done a lot of thinking about her life, her family's legacy, and her role in it, and she openly shares some of the struggles as well as happy experiences in her own life that resulted from her family history. She also threw in the details of the early history of the Gucci brand and about the development of some of the iconic Gucci designs, which will be interesting if you enjoy fashion. If you enjoy this book, I also recommend Diane Von Furstenberg's memoir A Life Unwrapped.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I spent the first 30 pages being confused because I was thinking that this book was about the woman married to
Maurizio Gucci. Then I figured out it’s actually written by Aldo Gucci’s daughter. Kind of ironic that they both have the same names! So it was a pretty interesting story juxtaposing in the movie house of Gucci. It’s definitely a Self-serving account by the daughter. But it’s Christmas with Covid and I have nothing better to do.

[Stefani · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good and touching memoir from the daughter of Aldo Gucci. Some behind the scenes of the making and undoing of sorts of the greatest Italian luxury brands. Very happy that I picked this up and read it.

[Patricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was an interesting enough, but seemed to mostly be a poor little rich girl story.

[Malpiszon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Approched it with certain reservations... didn't know what to expect and for some reason was biased that the book was written to potentially bring more publicity to Gucci.. this probably comes from the current image of Gucci where big part of the stock reminds no Gucci of old times ( except loafers, bamboo bag etc). Current clientele of Gucci has nothing to do with old elegance... I was very soon proven to be wrong when it comes to the book. Patricia, daughter of a visionary Also Gucci did an amazing job telling the story of his father, family and the brand. I'm waiting for a movie which I hope someone will decide to do. Proving that you read this book should be mandatory if you wished to purchase any Gucci product... almost like proving you deserve to ride a Ferrari before you take your credit card out. After reading this book I will do 2 things for sure in the hopefully closest future. Visiting Gucci museum in Florence to pay tribute to the GREAT Aldo Gucci and buy the loafers.. This will remind me of that great story I was lucky to read... unfortunately there are not many real Guccis of the world anymore... I felt inspired and touched

[Sanna-Mari · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hyvin keskinkertainen, aika kultaa muistot, tyylinen haamukirjoitettu elämänkerta, jossa päähenkilö ei anna itsestään missään vaiheessa negatiivista kuvaa. Omat väärät valinnat jätetään maininnan tasolla ja muiden niskoille ajetaan paljon vastuuta.

Kolme tähteä muotitalon pyörittämisen kuvauksesta ja selkäänpuukottamisen yrityskulttuurista.

[Kelly Chester · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great book

[Svilen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story, sis

[Italo Italophiles · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the Name of Gucci is a heartfelt recounting of several lives and one iconic business through the lens of Patricia Gucci, the daughter of the family-firm Gucci's powerhouse behind the company's growth into an international luxury goods firm, Aldo Gucci.

Aldo Gucci's daughter by his second wife, Patricia is now a mature woman with a mature understanding of human nature, and is informed by her mother's strong memories. The author sets out to do three things: to honor her father, to honor her mother, and:

"to give my children a unique and truthful memento"

There are some omissions to spare feelings, and to avoid lawsuits, no doubt, and there is spin on things that could be viewed from a very different, unsympathetic perspective. If you set those things aside, the book is highly readable, often fascinating, fluidly written, and gives the reader a close-up view of people who filled the newspapers for decades. That many members of the Gucci clan would not be out of place in a recent book about psychopaths in boardrooms, makes the book compelling reading.

The spinning in the book generally relates to 53 year-old Aldo Gucci's sexual harassment of a 20 year-old employee. What makes the egotistical assault by the old-man-with-an-infatuation on the young woman most damning is that the young woman was very immature, and emotionally and psychologically weak and vulnerable. Hounded into a relationship with a married man old enough to be her grandfather, left the fragile woman scared for life. She is the author's long-suffering mother.

Other spinning in the book involves the disgusting wealth that went to the Gucci family from their luxury goods business, rather than to their employees or the tax authorities, to the former for their hard work and long hours and having to put up with the vicious abusive tantrums of the company's owners, and to the latter what was their due by law. The conspicuous consumption, of especially the 1980s, turned this reader's stomach.

If you are someone who prefers non-fiction reading to fiction reading, like me, you'll enjoy every word in the book. Truth is stranger than fiction, and the truth of the Gucci family is especially strange. I received a review-copy of this book. This is my honest review. For my full and illustrated review please visit Italophile Book Reviews.
http://italophilebookreviews.blogspot...

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It's a love story, a rags to riches story of an Italian family who went from struggling working class to becoming masters of a global empire. It's the story of loyalty, family dysfunction and family betrayal over a span of almost 100 years from the time when grandfather Guccio Gucci was a page at the Savoy hotel in London in the late 1800s to the 1990s when his son Aldo Gucci, mastermind of the Gucci corporation, died in Rome. The story of the Gucci family and the love affair between Aldo Gucci and Bruna Palumbo is told by Aldo Gucci's illegitimate daughter Patricia based on her interviews with her mother who was Aldo Gucci's mistress for decades and the love of his life until the day he died. Couldn't put this one down.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the memoir Patricia Gucci wrote about her life. Patricia was born with the Gucci name and her father was Aldo Gucci, the head of the Gucci family business. However, her mother, Bruna, was not his wife and he was not able to divorce to legally marry her. The reader can image the difficult decisions that they made and see the consequences of them. The book spans several decades and you see the ups and downs of relationships and the effects of extended family dynamics on the Gucci business. The struggles for power and money that play out are interesting, and Patricia's descriptions of her childhood and parents are well written and equally as important to the book. Although I am curious how things would be written from other family members views.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Patricia Gucci was the illegitimate daughter of Aldo Gucci, the man who created the luxury Gucci brand. In her memoir, she talks about her unconventional upbringing at a time when her parents could have been thrown in jail for adultery. She talks about her troubled relationship with her mother, who was often dealing with her own emotional problems. Her father wanted his sons to inherit the family company, but their reckless behavior led to its downfall. An interesting book, even if you don't have a love for luxury brands.

[N · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a rare opportunity for us to get insight to a man, Aldo Gucci who built the Gucci empire through his daughter's eyes. It is not only a book about the struggles of life (love, family, deceit) but how to overcome them and still lead in spirit after you lose everything. It also reflects the strength needed to be married to and a child of a man bigger than life.

[Tanvee Agrawal · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book may tell you things about Gucci which internet would not. All the hush hush about the empire being built and turning to ashes have been very diplomatically portrayed by Patricia, Aldo Gucci's daughter from a secret wife.
Why to read fiction when you have such dynasties with such turn of events in real? With all the elements of a family drama, I do foresee a movie based on this memoir.

[FRANCES L RABIDOU · Rating 5 out of 5]

So interesting - hard to put down

Read this book everyone , its a beautiful story about an unconventional family. It shows money and fame are not the most important things in life, and can be taken away in the blink of an eye.

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoughtful, tragic and truly a love story.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty interesting story of the Gucci family.

[Lily · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars at the beginning, but I would give it closer to 4 stars at the end.

[Wiktoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very touching and sometimes sad story of Gucci and his family

[Ali · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not only is this a history of the brand it is also a beautiful love story written by their daughter.

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

An interesting history of the Gucci family/empire, but ultimately so one sided and lacking in introspection as to be delusional.

[Leigh Williams · Rating 1 out of 5]

A little more respect towards the Mother of her half brothers would have been a classy gesture - but obviously not possible coming from this one.