Founded one hundred years ago, the Italian luxury brand
+
luxury brand:
marca de lujo
Gucci is today one of the most phenomenal successes of the fashion world. A subsidiary
+
subsidiary:
filial
of the French group Kering, Gucci brings in more revenue
+
revenue:
ingresos
than any of its other big names, among them, Saint Laurent, Balenciaga and Alexander McQueen. In 2019, the brand value of Gucci alone amounted
+
to amount :
acumular
to 10.2 billion dollars in the US, and it is the label
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label:
marca (lit. etiqueta)
of choice for contemporary style icons Harry Styles and Rihanna.
MEET THE FAMILY
It all began in 1921 when Guccio Gucci opened a small handbag
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handbag:
bolso
shop in Florence. His vision, however, was to make quality bags and luggage
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luggage:
maletas
for a European travelling elite, and he later added
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to add:
añadir
memorable symbolism such as the interlocking
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interlocking:
entrelazar
Gs that adorned the bags. After his death, Guccio left
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to leave:
abandonar
the business to his five sons, but the siblings
+
siblings:
hermanos y hermanas
fought
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to fight:
pelear
constantly over the company. By the 1970s Gucci was split
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split:
dividir
equally between the brothers Rodolfo and Aldo, who chose to sort out
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to sort out:
resolver
their disputes through the courts
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courts:
tribunales
rather than
+
rather than:
en lugar de
in person. In 1983, Rodolfo’s son Maurizio inherited
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to inherit:
heredar
his 50 per cent, and then became majority shareholder
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shareholder:
accionista
.
FALL AND RISE
+
FALL AND RISE:
caída y ascenso
By the 1990s, Gucci was profitable, but had lost its glamour. Products were too cheap in price and in look. Maurizio wanted to return the brand to what it once
+
once:
en su momento
was: expensive and exclusive; but his own spending was extravagant and misplaced
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misplaced:
inapropiado
. By 1993, Gucci was in debt and Maurizio was forced to sell out
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to sell out:
vender
to investors. There, the story of Gucci the brand, and Gucci the family part ways
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to part ways:
separar caminos
... in dramatic style.
THE HITMAN
+
THE HITMAN:
sicario
Gucci the brand made an extraordinary revival. The creative business team of Italian-American CEO
+
CEO:
director general (Chief Executive Officer)
Dominico De Sole and US designer Tom Ford proved controversial
+
to prove controversial:
demostrarse polémico
among Italians at first, but highly
+
highly:
muy
successful internationally. The fortunes of the Gucci family, on the other hand
+
on the other hand:
por otro lado
, were to take a turn for the worse
+
to take a turn for the worse:
empeorar
! In March 1995, the forty-six-year-old Maurizio Gucci was shot dead
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to be shot dead:
morir por disparos
in Milan; two years on, his ex-wife Patrizia Reggiani was arrested and convicted
+
to convict:
condenar
for the crime.
STYLE AND SNOBBERY
It is their story that is told, on the backdrop
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backdrop:
trasfondo
of one of loss
+
loss:
pérdida
of control over a fashion empire, in the new film House of Gucci. Based on the book by Sara Gay Forden and directed by Ridley Scott, the movie covers the complicated marriage
+
marriage:
matrimonio
and bitter
+
bitter:
amargo, poco amigable
divorce of Maurizio Gucci, played by Adam Driver, and, played by Lady Gaga. Also starring Al Pacino and Jared Leto, the biographical crime film has proven divisive
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divisive:
desprecio
. Although highly anticipated by critics, it has been met with disdain
+
disdain:
controvertido
from the family it represents, who claim
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to claim:
afirmar
that it is “identity theft
+
identity theft:
usurpación de identidad
for profit” and have said that the actors, whose outfits
+
outfits:
atuendos
were inspired by the Gucci archives, are simply not good looking enough for their roles.
