Emilio Pucci
Emilio Pucci
Emilio Pucci designs are instantly recognizable and embody a playful femininity that breaks with convention and looks at fashion in a new light.
Creation date: 1947
CEO: Mauro Grimaldi
Head office: Palazzo Pucci Via Pucci, 6 Florence - Italy
Website: www.emiliopucci.com
Identity
The Pucci story begins in the lavish surroundings of a sumptuous Renaissance palazzo in the heart of Florence’s historic center. It was pure chance that led Marquess Emilio Pucci di Barsento to become one of the most influential fashion designers of the twentieth century. During a trip to Saint-Moritz, he designed a streamlined ski suit for a female friend. Toni Frissell, a photographer for Harper’s Bazaar, published a shot of this revolutionary design, and it took America by storm. Adventurous and audacious, the man they nicknamed the ‘Prince of Prints’ saw his fabrics as colored paintings that exuded playfulness and movement. Pucci’s designs, which strike a balance between Italian exuberance and simple shapes, celebrate color and a way of life that breaks with convention. They have been extending an invitation to the dolce vita since 1947.
Icon
In the heart of Florence's historic center, the Renaissance palace built by the Pucci family is an endless source of inspiration for the House's designers, from its founder to Massimo Giorgetti. Adorned with frescoes, busts and filigree, this legendary place is an embodiment of the Pucci spirit.
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.”
Architecture
After New York in 2012, the new Emilio Pucci flagship store opened in Paris on the iconic Avenue Montaigne in late 2013. The store is a modern palazzo designed by architect Joseph Dirand with plenty of input from the Brand’s creative director, Peter Dundas, and displays an impressive grandeur and sophistication. Gray and purple marble inlay adorns the floor, inspired by the House’s iconic “Torre” print. The walls are decorated with an array of colored silk velvet fabrics. This new address is a sublime showcase that reflects the Brand’s dynamism as well as its global retail expansion strategy encompassing both international fashion capitals and emerging markets.
Inspiration
Early in his career, the designer began developing his signature prints: pulsing, geometric patterns in a sophisticated and unprecedented fusion of color, earning him the moniker “The Prince of Prints from the international fashion press. Ironically, though never considering himself an artist, each of his prints was indeed much like an artwork born upon a silk canvas, framed with a decorative border and signed in his name – “Emilio”. Today his scarves adorn the walls of the Palazzo Pucci alongside the works of the Great Masters.
Key figures
- 50 stores around the world
- More than 20,000 prints in the Emilio Pucci archive
- 2,000 sqm, the biggest Pucci print, used to dress a monument
Emilio Pucci on social media
- @ithurman_ in #PucciFW17 angora dress in Zebra Print #emiliopucci #umathurman pic.twitter.com/6f6cg2KxcS
- #PucciFW17 green fringed dress #emiliopucci pic.twitter.com/95E2Li5kO9
- @karliekloss in #PucciSS17 total look in #LabirintoPrint on @vogueaustralia pic.twitter.com/cxH95Bq9YU