To be a Faux Gucci in a World of Gucci’s

“Never lose touch with the importance of the soul and one's sentiments. Life can be a vast, arid field where the seed one sows often grows away from all that is good.”

This quote embodies the Gucci family turmoil. The company was built by family, and soon greed took over. Each Gucci wanted to be the one to move Gucci from a family-oriented business to a worldwide luxury brand. Had the Gucci’s managed to work together to bring this dream into reality, they might have done it. Instead, they constantly worked against each other, which eventually led to the ultimate downfall of the Gucci family, death, and revocation.

In the book, you follow the story of how Gucci came into existence, tracing its ups and downs from beginning to semi-end. Gucci obviously, is still a major top-tier fashion brand today, but there isn’t a single Gucci still involved in the business.

From fine Gucci to faux Gucci, the “House of Gucci” film never hits the mark. The book on the other hand hits all the marks. Forden does a mesmerizing job of telling a story of murder, greed, and family feud.

She does her research and more. I watched this movie and expected to be wow-ed, but I was sorely disappointed. I kind of expected the movie to be exceptional due to the 5-star cast, but found myself bored through its entirety. The movie misses all of the exciting aspects of this non-fiction story. The Gucci dynasty is filled with family turmoil that translates into Gucci bags being thrown from windows into the streets - how was this not included???

House of Gucci consists of an array of characters; an actor, a tax evader, a lawyer and so much more. This erratic group of siblings, cousins, and significant others created a story that gripped me from page one. Despite this being nonfiction, it read like a fiction book. While it is intertwined with the legal aspects of the business, which slowed it down quite a bit, the overall premise was so engaging.

The book is a circle story, starting with Maurizio Gucci’s death, which ended with a giant question mark - who killed Maurizio Gucci? Without any prior knowledge of this case, it could be classified as a murder mystery and courtroom drama - definitely a courtroom drama. The Gucci murder had many facets while simultaneously being one of the most simple, and dare I say… botched murders in star history. How the killers evaded repercussions for as many years as they did is absolutely beyond me. It was a crime of passion that lacked thought and despite this, the courtroom provided some of the most interesting content of the entire story. The movie misses all of this, and where the movie lacks the book takes over. If you watched “House of Gucci” and were aching for the missing pieces… pick up #SaraGayForden’s House of Gucci and fill in every single missing piece on “murder, madness, glamour, and greed”.

To the Father, Son, and House of Gucci,

-Jess