Overview

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, 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, 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 shop girl 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 protege, to the moment when Aldo's 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.

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9781504714259

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Reviews

This intimate memoir by the daughter of Aldo Gucci and his longtime mistress, Bruna, describes growing up in the shadow of the family at the center of the Gucci fashion empire...This book is particularly successful as a personal story about growing up with the weight of illegitimacy on one's young yet well-dressed shoulders. -- Publishers Weekly With its themes of epic passion, repugnant greed, and nefarious treachery, Gucci's memoir is straight out of Shakespeare, tempered with an innocent love of the ordinary people. -- Booklist As solemn as many of her memories are, Gucci imparts these emotions with impassioned, poetic prose that buffers much of the hollowness of her restless childhood...An absorbing, bittersweet tribute. -- Kirkus Reviews

As solemn as many of her memories are, Gucci imparts these emotions with impassioned, poetic prose that buffers much of the hollowness of her restless childhood...An absorbing, bittersweet tribute. -- Kirkus Reviews With its themes of epic passion, repugnant greed, and nefarious treachery, Gucci's memoir is straight out of Shakespeare, tempered with an innocent love of the ordinary people. -- Booklist This intimate memoir by the daughter of Aldo Gucci and his longtime mistress, Bruna, describes growing up in the shadow of the family at the center of the Gucci fashion empire...This book is particularly successful as a personal story about growing up with the weight of illegitimacy on one's young yet well-dressed shoulders. -- Publishers Weekly

Author Information

Patricia Gucci was born in London and is the only daughter of Bruna and Aldo Gucci. She was educated in England, Italy, and Switzerland before moving to New York to study acting, despite her father's wish that she dedicate herself to the family business. In 1982, after a year of study, her father prevailed and she was appointed to the board of Gucci. Patricia is establishing a legacy of her own, developing biographical projects based on a collection of diverse experiences and a unique perspective. She has three daughters and lives in Switzerland. Wendy Holden is a successful journalist and fiction author. Born in Yorkshire, England, she studied English at Cambridge before becoming an editor for publications such as the Sunday Telegraph magazine, the Sunday Times style section, Apollo, and Tatler. She has written a number of books, including Gallery Girl, Marrying Up, Filthy Rich, Bad Heir Day, and others. Kate Reading is an Audie Award-winning narrator and has received dozens of Earphones Awards. She has been named by AudioFile magazine as a Voice of the Century, as well as the Best Voice in Science Fiction & Fantasy in 2008 and 2009 and Best Voice in Biography & Culture in 2010. She is also a theater actor in the Washington, DC, area and has been a member of the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company since 1987. Her work onstage has been recognized by the Helen Hayes Awards Society, among others.

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