The Encapsulating House of Gucci!
By Christina Muttavanchery ('23)
Gucci. It’s a name you’ve no doubt have heard before, which reeks of drama and desire. It triggers images of famous celebrities, models, and just a sense of wealth in general. Gucci is a brand, but many don’t know that it originally started as a family business, passed down through sons. This is all explained and showcased in the recent film The House of Gucci. It stars Lady Gaga as Patrizia Reggiani, the infamous woman who married into the Gucci name, and Adam Driver as Maurizio Gucci.
The House of Gucci has been out for showings since November 24th, 2021. Please keep in mind that the movie exaggerates and changes the actual story of what happened years ago. The plot of this movie is that Patrizia Reggiani was a single lady who met Maurizio in a crazy party scene in the 1970s. Maurizio went against his father’s opinions and married Patrizi, which in consequence meant he had to stop being involved in their family business of Gucci. Later on, Maurizio’s uncle, Aldo Gucci, took him under his wing of the business and moved them both out to NYC, since he didn’t quite like his own son. Patrizia tended to be vocal with her ideas and opinions, some of which Aldo never listened to. Patrizia did what she felt fit and persuaded her husband, Maurizio, to cut his uncle out of the business.
Photo courtesy of The Independant
Photo courtesy of The New York Posts
Some things come into play in between the year, but Patrizia and Maurizio were living a lavish lifestyle, along with their daughter, Alessandra, until the FBI busted them for a signature forgery. Maurizio flees to Switzerland, his wife, and daughter following behind. Before they get there however he meets a lady and realizes she was his friend who he lost touch with a couple of years ago. Maurizio starts to feel aggravated with Patrizia pushing her ideas/opinions (even though it’s what helped the business blossom so far) and gets abusive. Maurizio then suddenly starts to feel like he wants to leave his wife, and instead be with his friend that he’s met again after a long time. Patrizia finds out the information and gets extremely upset and starts plotting her master plan of murdering Maurizio after she gives him a chance to come back to her and their daughter.
After watching, this movie has become my favorite of all time. The actors give us an insight as to what could have been in the minds of the characters who have passed. Lady Gaga herself went above and beyond and spent months studying Patrizia as a person, and not only a character she was casted to be. She even spent 18 months to prepare for this role (as in talking in an Italian accent all the time).
The Gucci brand, which was once a family business, is now a company run by shareholders, none of which are the Gucci descendants. Eerily, a few years ago, Patrizia Gucci was released from jail for the murder of Maurizio and is said to be living in Milan after serving 17 years of her sentence.
Banner courtesy of The Indian Express
Cover photo courtesy of Harper's Bazaar