Emilio Pucci
Emilio Pucci
“Gaiety is one of the most important elements I brought to fashion. I brought it through color.”
Emilio Pucci
Creation date: 1947
Head office: Via Fieno, 3 Milan - Italy
Website: www.emiliopucci.com
Identity
Born in 1914 to one of Florence’s oldest families, Marquess Emilio Pucci became a fashion phenomenon in the 1950s with a trailblazing vision that continues to reverberate today. His fashion career began unexpectedly in 1947 when he created a totally revolutionary streamlined ski, photographed by Toni Frissel on the slopes of Zermatt for Harper’s Bazaar. Shortly thereafter, he opened his first boutique in Capri dedicated to simple, yet beautiful resort clothing that embodied the island’s carefree spirit and bright sunny colours. Later, his designs were prized by world-renown female icons, including Marilyn Monroe, Sophia Loren, Jackie Kennedy and Gloria Guinness as well as Madonna and Nicole Kidman.
Icon
Emilio Pucci was crowned “The Prince of Prints” by the international fashion press who were smitten by his bold, new designs and radical approach to fashion at the time. A major influence in contemporary fashion, Pucci’s legacy continues to be a major force behind the birth of the “made in Italy” style and a milestone in Italy’s sportswear concept.
Insights
“My father was a minimalist before minimalism; a jet-setter before jets were flying; a scientist before fabric technology became a discipline; provocative in his modernity and sartorial daring. For him prints were rhythm and movement, and in prints he expressed a message of contagious happiness.”
Lifestyle
Regarded as an expert on creative diversification, Pucci used his design talent in a variety of non-fashion projects. These include creating futuristic uniforms for Braniff International Airlines, the logo for the Apollo 15 space mission, porcelain tableware for Rosenthal, Spring Mills bath towels and handmade wool rugs in iconic Pucci motifs. Other projects include a 300-foot hand-painted sail for Wally Yachts,furniture projects with Cappellini and Kartell, artistic mosaics with Bisazza and a collaboration with Illy Art Collection. Launched in 2019, Unexpected Pucci – the publication curated by Laudomia Pucci and edited by Rizzoli New York – narrates the world of Emilio Pucci beyond fashion and gathers all these special projects and more, from the 1960s to present day.
Inspiration
Inspired by exotic cultures and by the natural landscapes of the Mediterranean, Pucci brought luscious, bright colour to his designs in an unparalleled way. In the 1950s he began developing his signature prints: graphic, abstract designs, which swirled in a kaleidoscope of colour. The organic forms pulsing with geometric patterns mimicked contemporary art forms but were inspired by the world around him – Sicilian mosaics, the heraldic banners of Siena’s Palio horse race, Bali Batiks and African motifs.
Key figures
- 1950 Opening of the first boutique in Capri
- MORE THAN 500 Colours in the Emilio Pucci Archive
- 2.000 SQM The biggest Pucci print to dress the Baptistery of San Giovanni in Florence
Emilio Pucci on social media
- The Pucci Carré Bag: what's your favourite colour? Discover more: bit.ly/Pucci_Battiste… #EmilioPucci pic.twitter.com/ReSY4B4GGo
- #Resort21 features iconic prints constituting an ode to the city of #Florence in all of its magnificence, whilst of… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
- The archival #𝘉𝘈𝘛𝘛𝘐𝘚𝘛𝘌𝘙𝘖 print, designed by Marquis Emilio Pucci in the 50's makes a revival for #Resort21, with Fl… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…