House of Gucci: A Story of Fashion and Murder
The upcoming film House of Gucci was adapted from the book The House of Gucci: A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour, and Greed written by Sara Gay Forden. It explores the murder of Maurizio Gucci, the heir to the Gucci fortune. The book further examines the scandalous history of the Italian fashion industry and how family empires, such as Versace and Prada, evolved into the luxury brands they are today.
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The crime biopic, directed by Ridley Scott, stars Lady Gaga, Adam Driver, Jared Leto, Al Pacino, and Salma Hayek. The film was shot on location in Italy. Gaga will play the role of Italian socialite and former Gucci chief advisor Patrizia Reggiani. Known as the “Elizabeth Taylor of luxury labels” in the 70s and 80s, Reggiani was a household name in the Gucci dynasty. Driver will play her husband, Maurizio, in the film. Born in Florence in 1948, Maurizio Gucci was the grandson of legendary fashion designer Guccio Gucci. Maurizio was an only child who inherited his father’s majority stake in the fashion empire after he died in 1983. As a result, he fought a gruesome legal battle with his uncle Aldo Gucci to completely control the luxury brand. The couple married in 1973 and had two daughters, Alessandra and Allegra. In 1985, it was revealed that Gucci was living with his secret girlfriend, Paola Franchi. In 1993, the global business lost millions of dollars under Gucci’s control, and as a result, he had to spend his own money and the company’s income. He was forced to sell his shares to Investcorp, a Bahrain-based investment group, for $120 million.
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Maurizio Gucci was killed in 1995 outside his Milan office. The most obvious suspect was his ex-wife Reggiani given that Gucci possibly married his mistress and overspent his fortune. Reggiani’s Cartier diary was the most notable among the pieces of evidence. On the day of Gucci’s murder, her journal entry consisted of one word: "Paradeisos"- the Greek word for paradise. When the trial started in 1998, it was revealed that Reggiani actually hired four other accomplices to carry out the murder: psychic Pina Auriemma, her boyfriend Ivano Savioni, the hitman Benedetto Ceraulo, and the mastermind behind the scheme and getaway driver Orazio Cicala. Auriemma was given 25 years in prison, while Ceraulo was given a life sentence. Reggiani was sentenced to 29 years in prison for plotting the assassination of her ex-husband Mauricio Gucci but was released after 16 years. She was pictured as the “Black Widow” by the Italian press. The week Reggiani was convicted, a pair of sterling silver handcuffs were displayed on the window of every Gucci store in the world. Besides the murder investigation, the story delves into the evolution of the Italian fashion house by giving insight into its glamorous yet secretive world. Today, the Gucci family remains uninvolved in the brand.
Gucci’s president and chief executive officer, Marco Bizzarri, gave MGM and Scott Free Productions full access to the luxury brand’s historical archives, including props and wardrobe pieces for the film. The label granted the production crew complete creative freedom. The high-fashion crime drama House of Gucci will be released on November 24th, 2021, in the U.S. to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Gucci brand.
Strike Out,
Writer: Veronica Polanco
Editors: Karina McCarthy & Lexi Fernandez
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