JAMES FRANCO PRESENTS "The Director" (2013) A FILM BY CHRISTINA VOROS.

In the 1960s, American movie icons traveling to Rome noticed the exceptional craftsmanship of a local leather shop founded by Guccio Gucci in 1921. They returned to Hollywood and appeared in films with the bags and shoes that would help to make the Florentine brand an international fashion powerhouse. Ninety years later, Gucci's FridaGiannini is taking inspiration back from the cinema—as well as art,music, and life. Since rising to Creative Director in 2006, Giannini has delved into thefashionhouse's rich archive to reinterpret the house's iconic designs as she simultaneously redefines a legacy of her own.

THE DIRECTOR, produced by James Franco and directed by Christina Voros, is the story of Gucci under Giannini: the portrait of a designer who has nurtured a deep connection to the past in order to carry forward a legacy into the future. A film in three acts, THE DIRECTOR spans 18 months behind the walls of the fashion house, exploring the intricacies and inspiration behind the quietly brilliant power woman whose own evolution as the creative force behind the brand is as nuanced as that of the storied Florentine house itself.

Edited by Vanessa McMahon