Gucci: Unaffordable in Life, Unlawful after Death

Last week Patricia Gucci, an heiress to the Gucci fortune, published a revealing memoir. She opens the book with a chilling account of the funeral of her father, Aldo Gucci, former chairman of the luxury brand.As the daughter of Aldo’s much younger mistress, Patricia is forced to grieve separately from the rest of the family. We learn that years earlier, her half brothers and cousin wrested control of the company from Aldo and sent the elderly chairman to prison for tax evasion in the process. All told, the memoir is a sordid tale involving infidelity, duplicity, corruption, and even murder. 

The frigid atmosphere at Aldo’s funeral might lead one to question Gucci’s expertise in matters of mourning. Nevertheless, the company recently saw fit to send bullying letters to several Hong Kong mom-and-pop shops that sell paper funerary offerings, accusing them of trademark infringement. The staggering chutzpah of this move provoked a furious backlash, and Gucci quickly apologized. But perhaps the company should have gone further. Aldo died in 1990 and could probably use a new pair of Gucci loafers—not to mention an iPhone and a late-model Ferrari—around now. If the company wants to honor its forebears—and show respect for traditional practices—it has the addresses of several shops in Hong Kong that can help with that.

Translation

GUCCI：生前買不起，死後也不讓你用！

古馳鉅富的女繼承人派翠西亞．古馳上週出版了一本爆料性十足的回憶錄。她以她父親－該奢華品牌前董事長－阿爾多．古馳葬禮上的寒心敘述，為該書拉開序幕。身為阿爾多年紀與他比起來要輕得多的情婦的女兒，派翠西亞被迫必須與其他的家庭成員分開來哀悼她父親。我們得知，多年前她的同父異母兄弟和堂兄為了從阿爾多手上奪取公司掌控權曾以逃稅的理由把這位年邁的董事長送進了監牢。總之，這本回憶錄就是一個充滿不貞、欺騙、腐敗，甚至謀殺的齷齪故事。 

阿爾多葬禮上冷冰冰的氣氛可能會讓人質疑古馳家族是否有能力完善地處理治喪事宜。儘管如此，該公司最近卻決定寄出警告信給幾家販售紙紮葬禮祭品的小攤販，指控他們侵犯商標權。如此放肆無理的舉動引發了強烈反彈，而古馳也很快地道歉。不過或許該公司應該做得更漂亮。阿爾多於 1990 年過世，這會兒他可能用得上一雙新的古馳休閒鞋－更不用說一只 iPhone 和最新款的法拉利。如果該公司想光宗耀祖－並對傳統習俗表示尊敬－他們手上有幾家可以幫得上忙的香港商店的地址。