Cutting to the chase, on the first day of the CNI Luxury Conference in Cape Town Suzy at her investigative yet respectful best quizzed Gucci’s President and CEO, Marco Bizzarri, and fashion icon and Gucci Changemaker, Naomi Campbell, on how one tone-deaf accessory led to a company meltdown in just ten hours – and the positive ending that came about afterwards.
In this excerpt from their conversation, Bizzarri says, “Diversity is the value on which we built the creativity of Gucci… I want to build bridges.”
The result of the subsequent corporate soul search? Naomi, whose philanthropy was fostered by her “honorary grandfather”, Nelson Mandela, realised her life commitment is to “put the continent on the map where it should be” and is proud to announce that Gucci is the first luxury brand to have fellowship and scholarship funds for academies, colleges and universities in Cape Town, Nairobi, Lagos, and Accra.
Bravo to that, says Suzy, as the audience greets the news with applause.
We’ll be posting more reports and films from “The Nature of Luxury” Conference today and tomorrow, and you can find more information about the CNI Luxury Conference at www.cniluxury.com and enjoy behind-the-scenes highlights on Suzy’s Instagram account, @suzymenkesvogue.
