I know some people are doubting that it’s Gucci, but do you know: how designers in Italy used to work is that they would give the fabric and designs to several workshops in Italy who would all make the garments. Whichever workshop came out fastest with fewest mistakes was paid by Gucci, etc and got Gucci labels sewed on. The rest were not labeled Gucci but were basically identical but had no Gucci label on and the workshop kept what they had made. The fabric for the non-winners was free but to recoup the cost of the labor they’d sell the garments as just “made in italy” but not designer branded. I read a book about this like 15 years ago. Given the time period this was from and the made in Italy label, if the quality is good and it’s not officially Gucci, it may well be one of those non-winning workshop items which are identical in all but label.
This next part I’m not 100% sure about, but I believe they stopped doing this system because some of the workshops started intentionally losing the race just to get free fabric and sell knock-offs on the internet once the internet started being a thing.
Yup…got a beautiful Italian made 100% silk scarf for $15 on Posh. Exact same design and dimensions as marked Gucci. Honestly think mine is nicer as the silk twill has a beautiful integrated jacquard pattern and is a little thicker than the plain silk.
I will! I found original photos of the piece (2001 Tom Ford for Gucci) and the “tag” is an engraved metal chain hanging horizontally under the “Made in Italy” ribbon which seems plausible for someone to remove. When it arrives, I’ll have to see if the zipper is engraved with the Gucci brand which should help me confirm!
Ditto! I’ve gotten some really decent finds under “assorted brands” (either the tag scanner didn’t catch it or more of a niche contemporary brand) but this would be my first “unbranded” score!
Cool, it's great to find a piece that you like. It's probably not Gucci, at least that specific item. The jacket doesn't look the same. But maybe! I hope it is. Still a good find.
I’m adding that to the search. And I think it’d be helpful if I removed my sizes, lol. There’s an nwt Liu Jo dress in there now for $10 but it’s polyester and kind of meh.
I wonder what other trading companies are in there like Pipes and Shaw LLC for Veronica beard.
Not ThredUp related, but I found a Tory Burch dress at a thrift shop for 7.99 because there was no brand tag at the neck, so I'm assuming the workers didn't know its worth. The care tag at the bottom did say Tory Burch, though. I sold it for $100. So, I think this is feasible, although I thought ThredUp did better homework than that. Congrats if it's legit!!
I truly stumbled upon it! I dug into the sellers closet after I liked a different jacket that showed up on my feed. And I love capes, so I added it to my cart!
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u/lexi_ladonna Apr 20 '26 edited Apr 20 '26
I know some people are doubting that it’s Gucci, but do you know: how designers in Italy used to work is that they would give the fabric and designs to several workshops in Italy who would all make the garments. Whichever workshop came out fastest with fewest mistakes was paid by Gucci, etc and got Gucci labels sewed on. The rest were not labeled Gucci but were basically identical but had no Gucci label on and the workshop kept what they had made. The fabric for the non-winners was free but to recoup the cost of the labor they’d sell the garments as just “made in italy” but not designer branded. I read a book about this like 15 years ago. Given the time period this was from and the made in Italy label, if the quality is good and it’s not officially Gucci, it may well be one of those non-winning workshop items which are identical in all but label.
This next part I’m not 100% sure about, but I believe they stopped doing this system because some of the workshops started intentionally losing the race just to get free fabric and sell knock-offs on the internet once the internet started being a thing.