The history of designer brands starts with single addresses and working materials: a shop in Basingstoke, a first house in San Sebastián, a store in a Milan gallery and a house in Florence. Burberry, Prada, Balenciaga and Gucci each began as one small business built around one craft, and each name outgrew its founder. This guide traces how the four began and what those beginnings tell you when you buy a piece today.
What makes a fashion house a designer brand?
A designer brand is a label built on the name and design authority of one maker, sold at prices that reflect craft, materials and the name itself. A fashion house is the business behind that name. In the history of designer brands, the two grow together: the founder’s craft sets the signature, and later leaders keep it in circulation.
Fashion Roots carries all four houses below as high fashion: statement pieces for the shopper who buys once and keeps. They are listed oldest first.
How did Burberry begin in 1856?
Thomas Burberry founded Burberry in Basingstoke, England, in 1856, aged 21. The company’s own history says the business began with the idea that clothes should shield the people wearing them from British weather. In 1879 that idea produced the house’s first major invention: gabardine.
Gabardine is a light cloth that breathes and resists weather, with air held in the weave to let it ventilate. Burberry patented it in 1888. During the First World War the house supplied the armed forces, and the trench coat took shape. Epaulettes, D-rings, a gun flap and a storm shield each began as military hardware, and Burberry says all four remain on its trench coats.
How did Prada begin in Milan?
Prada opened its first store in 1913, inside Milan’s Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, according to the Prada Group. The brothers Mario and Martino Prada founded the house.
In 1977 Miuccia Prada’s creative vision joined Patrizio Bertelli’s business drive, and the Prada Group dates the brand’s international model to that year. In 1993 the house launched its first men’s collection and, in the same year, created Miu Miu. Today Prada is known for nylon bags and understated luxury.
How did Balenciaga move from San Sebastián to Paris?
Cristóbal Balenciaga opened his first house in San Sebastián, Spain, in 1917, after training as a tailor in the city. In 1937 he opened Balenciaga at 10 Avenue George V in Paris, and the house has been based in Paris since.
He was born in 1895 in the coastal town of Getaria. In 1906 he made his first dress for the Marquise of Casa Torres, who became his mentor and client. His silhouettes built the house’s reputation: the barrel line in 1947, then the sack dress in 1957. He presented his last collection in February 1968 and retired. Today the house is known for bold silhouettes and the Motorcycle bag.
How did Gucci begin in Florence?
Guccio Gucci founded Gucci in Florence in 1921. The house is known for the GG monogram and the web stripe, and for the Horsebit loafer. Its range now covers bags, shoes, ready-to-wear and accessories.
Gucci’s range on Fashion Roots shows how far the house has grown from that single Florence address. The web stripe, the GG and the Horsebit appear on pieces as different as a shoulder bag and a tweed vest, so one code can be followed across the whole range.
Explore Designer corner
Statement pieces from the houses above, chosen to be kept.
What do the founding stories in the history of designer brands share?
Two patterns run through the history of designer brands told here. Each house began at one address in one city, with a single maker’s craft at its centre. Burberry’s gabardine and Balenciaga’s tailoring show it most clearly, since each house grew from what its founder could make.
Each name also kept growing after its founding era, through a later chapter. Prada built its international model in 1977, and Burberry shortened its name from Burberrys in 1999. Balenciaga returned in the 1990s under Nicolas Ghesquière, decades after its founder retired.
For a buyer, the practical reading is this: the categories a house is best known for, such as Burberry’s trench coats or Prada’s nylon bags, are where its identity is easiest to see, while newer categories tend to reflect the creative direction of the day.
How to read a house’s history when you choose a piece
Start with what the house is known for, then read the label. The composition tag lists the materials, and the country-of-production line shows where the piece was made. Compare both across pieces from the same house before you decide.
Trench coats and check scarves from Burberry, nylon bags from Prada, bold silhouettes from Balenciaga and the GG monogram from Gucci each connect straight back to the founding stories above.
On Fashion Roots, every brand page lets you filter by category, size, colour and fabric, so you can narrow a house to the pieces you would wear most. Prices vary widely within one name: as of 8 October 2026, a Burberry check cashmere-blend beanie is €325 and a Burberry short leather trench coat is €4,990.
Key takeaways
- The history of designer brands begins with one maker, one address and one craft.
- Burberry began in 1856, Prada in 1913, Balenciaga in 1917 and Gucci in 1921.
- Burberry is known for trench coats, Prada for nylon bags, Balenciaga for bold silhouettes and Gucci for the GG monogram.
- Read the composition and country-of-production lines on the label before you buy.
Questions about designer brand histories
What group does each house belong to today?
Gucci and Balenciaga belong to the Kering group, according to their Fashion Roots brand pages. Burberry is an independent company listed on the London Stock Exchange since 2002. Prada sits within the Prada Group, which also owns Miu Miu and Church’s and has been listed in Hong Kong since 2011.
What was EISA, and how is it linked to Balenciaga?
EISA was the name Cristóbal Balenciaga gave to his Spanish fashion houses, beginning with EISA Costura in San Sebastián in 1927. The Cristóbal Balenciaga Museum says the name honoured his mother. By 1942 the EISA company grouped his three Spanish houses, while the Paris house traded as Balenciaga.
How did the Burberry Check become an accessory?
The check first appeared around 1920 as a lining for Burberry raincoats. In 1967, according to Burberry, a buyer in its Paris store took the check lining from a coat and wrapped luggage and an umbrella with it. That improvised accessory started the house’s check accessories.
Can a house’s founding place still shape how a piece is made?
Sometimes. Burberry states that it bought a factory in Castleford, Yorkshire, in 1972 and still makes its heritage trench coats there. Not every piece from a house is made in its home city, so check the label for the country of production and the composition of each item.
The history of designer brands is a record of small beginnings: one shop, one house, one craft. As of today, Fashion Roots lists 700+ Gucci, Prada, Balenciaga and Burberry products, so each story can be followed into a piece you can wear.
View Burberry
Trench coats, check scarves and outerwear from the house that began with gabardine.
Explore women’s
Bags, shoes and ready-to-wear from the same houses.