The venerable House of Gucci turns 85 this year with a number of celebrations scheduled around the globe.
Guccio Gucci originally started a saddle making business and added leather goods in the 1920's. He opened his first retail store shop on the Via Condotti in Rome in 1938. Gucci soon became renown for its luggage, ties, shoes, and its famous bamboo handle handbags.
It enjoyed enormous success worldwide in the 50's and 60's but started to languish in the 80's largely due to family infighting and bad business decisions.
The troubled company was eventually sold to Arab interests.
However things turned around in the 90's when Tom Ford was brought in as style director. Today Gucci is owned by French retailer PPR, which also owns Balenciaga, Yves Saint Laurent, Stella McCartney, Alexander McQueen and others.
<<Gucci Spring/Summer 2006 Collection during Milan Fashion Week.
Photo: Randy Brooke
My name is Kate and I am a loser-aholic. According to the Daily Mirror Kate Moss has decided to seek therapy to help her with her addiction to bad boyfriends. Quoting a close associate it reported..... "Kate wants to work through why she always wants bad boys. She's convinced that her attraction to wild guys is down to the traumatic split between her parents when she was just 13."
Her recent string of problem boy friends have included Pete Doherty, Russell Brand, and Dirty Pretty Things' Anthony Rossomando.
...Los Angeles
Another week in the life of Britney Spears and another trashy and desperate attempt to grab the media spotlight.
A six-month pregnant Spears, who last week dyed her hair black, posed nude for the cover of the August issue of Harper's Bazaar magazine wearing nothing but a diamond necklace. However, to many who have commented on the photos the 24 year-old is no Demi Moore.
The former Mrs Bruce Willis started the celebrity trend of full bloom nude magazine covers with her 1991 Vanity Fair sensual and provocative photo shoot. Unfortunately Spears comes across as tasteless, cheap and desperately craving attention.
...New York
Lil' Kim will soon be back on the loose and ready for trouble. She was released on July 3 from the Philadelphia Federal Detention Center where she was serving hard time for perjury.
The Hip Hop Queen was sentence to a year less a day but was released after 10 months for good behavior. She will still have to spend 30 days under house arrest before she is finally free to go shopping.
In a brief video clip shown on TV she looked happy but appeared to have gained more than a few extra pounds on prison food.
...New York
A New York Judge told Boy George to get serious or go to jail. George, who was sentenced to five days of community service for illegal possession of drugs, wanted to put on a fashion show to deliver on his part of the bargain.
Criminal Court Judge Anthony Ferrara however was not amused and felt that it was an insincere cop-out. He gave the singer turned fashion designer until August 28 to complete the five days of required community service.
<<B Rude Spring/Summer 2006 Collection during New York Fashion Week. Photo: Randy Brooke
According to a British tabloid all is not in the pink with Angelina Jolie and her soon to be in-laws.
The Pitts are quietly fuming that Jolie chooses not to dress to Shiloh Nouvel in an out fit that they bought.
A source was quoted in the Sun as saying, "Angelina knows her own mind and knows how she wants her children to be dressed. She doesn't like girlie, pink, frilly clothes. You can see that by how she dresses her adopted daughter Zahara. She doesn't want her babies to be dressed like dolls."
...Dubai
On the day Naomi Campbell appeared in a Manhattan courtroom to answer to assault charges for hitting one maid with a blackberry she was slapped with another lawsuit for beating another maid with her cell phone.
The 36 year-old Supermodel's trial was adjourned leading many to believe that she was able to strike an out of court settlement with her accuser and former housekeeper Ana Scolavino. However within hours she was informed about another lawsuit filed by Gaby Gibson for an incident that occurred in January.
<<Naomi Campbell walking for Rosa Cha Spring/Summer 2006 Collection during New York Fashion Week.
Photo: Edward James
