Emilio Pucci#Fashion career

Pucci was born in Naples in 1914 to the Pucci family, and he lived and worked in the Pucci Palace in Florence for much of his life.{{Citation|last=Morris|first=Bernadine|publication-date=1 December 1992|year=1992|title=Emilio Pucci, Designer of Bright Prints, Dies at 78|periodical=The New York Times|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE7D8173FF932A35751C1A964958260|access-date=22 April 2008}}

At the age of 17 Pucci traveled to Lake Placid, New York, as part of the Italian team at the 1932 Winter Olympics, where he did not compete. After two years at the University of Milan, he studied agriculture at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, United States.{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/kent-csi/docs/v13i2a16p_0015.htm |title=The Ciano Papers: Rose Garden |last=McGaw Smyth |first=Howard |year=1969 |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency|access-date=23 April 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080409175454/https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/kent-csi/docs/v13i2a16p_0015.htm|archive-date=9 April 2008}} In 1935, he was given a full scholarship to Reed College in Oregon in return for developing a college ski team.{{cite journal |last1=Rendleman |first1=Raymond |title=Thinker. Tailor. Soldier. Spy. |journal=Reed Magazine |date=March 2014 |volume=93 |issue=1 |url=http://www.reed.edu/reed_magazine/march2014/articles/features/pucci/pucci1.html |access-date=9 July 2018}} He earned an MA in social science from Reed College in 1937, and was awarded his doctorate (laurea) in political science from the University of Florence the same year.{{Cite journal|last=Zani|first=Andrea|date=2012|title=Il sarto|journal=Aeronautica|publisher=Associazione Arma Aeronautica|volume=4|pages=99–108}}{{citation needed|date=February 2017}}

In 1938, Pucci joined the Italian Air Force, and served as an SM.79 torpedo bomber pilot during World War II, rising to the rank of captain and receiving decorations for valour. During the war he became a confidant of Benito Mussolini's eldest daughter, Edda, and played a key role in a plan to save the life of her husband, Mussolini's former Foreign Minister, Count Galeazzo Ciano, who was on trial for his part in the removal of Mussolini from power in 1943. The plan involved delivering some of Ciano's papers (which were highly critical of Mussolini) to the Gestapo so that they could be bartered for Ciano's life.

After Adolf Hitler vetoed the scheme, Pucci drove Edda to the Swiss border on 9 January 1944 and ensured her escape. Before departing, Edda wrote last pleas to Hitler, Mussolini, and General Wilhelm Harster, the SD commander in Italy, and Pucci delivered these letters to an intermediary. He then attempted to flee to Switzerland himself, but he was arrested and transported to San Vittore prison in Milan, where he was tortured by the Gestapo in a futile attempt to extract information. Pucci then managed to escape and reach Switzerland, where he remained until the end of the war.

{{Infobox company

| name = Emilio Pucci S.r.l.

| logo = Pucci logo.svg

| logo_alt = Emilio Pucci logo

| type = Private

| foundation = 1947

| founder = Emilio Pucci

| location = Florence, Italy

| area_served = Worldwide

| key_people = Camille Miceli, Artistic Director

| industry = Fashion

| products = Clothing, homewares

| services =

| revenue = {{profit}} €60.1 million (2012)

| owner = LVMH

| num_employees =

| parent =

| divisions =

| subsid =

| homepage = [http://www.pucci.com/ www.pucci.com]

}}

Image:Emilio-pucci-99.png

The first clothes designed by Pucci were for the Reed College skiing team. His designs came to wider attention in 1947, when he was on leave in Zermatt, Switzerland. Skiwear that he had designed for a female friend was photographed by Toni Frissell, a photographer working for Harper's Bazaar. Frissell's editor asked Pucci to design skiwear for a story on European Winter Fashion, which ran in the winter 1948 issue of the Bazaar.

Pucci was the first person to design a one-piece ski suit.[http://snow-point.com/publ/one_piece_ski_suits/the_history_of_the_one_piece_ski_sui/2-1-0-2 The history of the one piece ski suit] Although there had been some experiments with stretch fabrics in Europe before the war, Pucci's sleek designs caused a sensation, and he received several offers from American manufacturers to produce them. Instead, he left the Air Force and set up an haute couture house in the fashionable resort of Canzone del Mare on the Isle of Capri.

Initially, he used his knowledge of stretch fabrics to produce a swimwear line in 1949, but he soon moved onto other items such as brightly coloured, boldly patterned silk scarves. Stanley Marcus of Neiman Marcus encouraged him to use the designs in blouses and then a popular line of wrinkle-free printed silk dresses. Pucci presented his collection in the first fashion shows in Italy in 1950.{{cite news |last1=Withers |first1=Kay |title=Emilio Pucci a designer for all seasons |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/377377135/?terms=%22emilio%2Bpucci%22 |access-date=6 July 2020 |work=The Baltimore Sun |date=5 May 1972 |page=B1}} Pucci added a boutique in Rome as business thrived, helped by Capri's role as a destination for the international jet set. By the early 1950s, Pucci was achieving international recognition, receiving the Neiman-Marcus Award in Dallas and the Burdines Sunshine Award in Miami.

By the 1960s, Pucci was further thrust into greater status when Marilyn Monroe became a fan. She was photographed by George Barris in a number of Pucci's items in what would be some of her final photographs. After Monroe's death in 1962, she was interred wearing a Pucci dress.{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/literature-and-arts/fashion-biographies/emilio-pucci|title=Pucci, Emilio |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia.com |last=Arnold|first=Rebecca|date=29 May 2018|access-date=26 July 2021}}

File:Emilio Pucci silk cocktail dress, 1970s.jpg sold at Frederick & Nelson in Seattle.]]

As the decade progressed his designs were worn by everyone from actress Sophia Loren to author Jacqueline Susann to First Lady Jackie Kennedy, as well as later pop icons such as Madonna{{Cite news|last=Attolico|first=Eleonora|publication-date=16 May 2007|year=2007|title=Buon compleanno maison Pucci 60 anni di moda innovativa|periodical=L'Espresso|publication-place=Rome|url=http://espresso.repubblica.it/dettaglio/Buon-compleanno-maison-Pucci-60-anni-di-moda-innovativa/1611724|access-date=23 April 2008|language=it|archive-date=19 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120319061929/http://espresso.repubblica.it/dettaglio/Buon-compleanno-maison-Pucci-60-anni-di-moda-innovativa/1611724|url-status=dead}} during an early 1990s period of 60s revival.{{cite news |last1=Horyn |first1=Cathy |author-link=Cathy Horyn |title=Mod Squad |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=1991-03-31 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1991/03/31/mod-squad/32c6d418-f378-4562-96fa-81a417a08fed/ |access-date=2022-06-12 |quote=Pucci...has experienced an enormous revival in the past year [1990-91], with no small help from American fashion editors jumping on the Pucci bandwagon in their psychedelic leggings.}}{{cite news |last1=Span |first1=Paula |title=Fashion Victims |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=1991-03-03 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/magazine/1991/03/03/fashion-victims/6263645f-f664-4334-bc22-d451f6093860/ |access-date=2022-06-12 |quote=Fashion types have been twittering for months about the '60s revival...[W]e face Pucci-style prints, flipped hair with headbands and two-inch swaths of eyeliner on each lid,...[h]iked hemlines and...go-go boots...}} Whenever the Sixties were revived in fashion, Pucci was likely to be referenced.{{cite news |title=From New York |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=1986-11-09 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1986/11/09/from-new-york/792b8545-2552-495d-95f7-c4311c11cd71/ |access-date=2022-06-22 |quote=With the '50s and '60s revival on the runways of New York comes the return of miniskirts, cutout clothes and, big surprise, Pucci-like prints.}} In fashion history, especially during the period of the 1950s and 1960s, Pucci was a perfect transition example between luxurious couture and ready-to-wear in Europe and the North America.{{Cite book |title=Fashion|last=Fukai|first=Akiko|publisher=Taschen |year=2002 |isbn=3-8228-1207-2 |location=Italy |pages=592–93, 719}}

In 1959, Pucci decided to create a lingerie line. His atelier in Rome advised him to develop the line abroad, avoiding the difficulties of a decade earlier in matching available fabrics to the patterns of his first swimwear line. As a result, Pucci came to Chicago giving the lingerie contract to Formfit-Rogers mills. The venture proved to be successful, and Pucci was made vice president in charge of design and merchandising for the company a year later.

In February 1959, he married Cristina Nannini from Rome, about whom he later remarked, "I married a Botticelli."{{Citation|last1=Settembrini|first1=Luigi|last2=Katell Le Bourhis|first2=Stefania Ricci|year=1996|title=Emilio Pucci (Florence Biennale)|publisher=Skira Editore|isbn=978-88-8118-176-6 }} They had two children, Alessandro and Laudomia. Alessandro died in a car crash in 1998, six years after his father.

In 1965, New York ad agency Jack Tinker and Associates was hired by Braniff International Airways to update their image. The agency's Mary Wells hired Alexander Girard to remodel the terminals, and Pucci to design new clothes for the hostesses.{{Citation|last=Jacobs|first=Laura|publication-date=1998|title=Stewardesses|periodical=2wice|publication-place=East Hampton, NY|publisher=2wice Arts Foundation, Inc.|volume=2|issue=2|pages=26–33|url=http://www.2wice.org/issues/uniform/stew.html|access-date=19 December 2002|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021219051134/http://www.2wice.org/issues/uniform/stew.html|archive-date=19 December 2002}}

Pucci designed six complete collections for Braniff hostesses, pilots and ground crew between 1965 and 1974. By 1968 Barbie had versions of all of his first four uniforms. These were designed as individual components to be added or removed as weather dictated. The uniforms included turtlenecks, T-shirts, crop jackets, and culottes. Pucci incorporated Girard's "BI" logo into some of his prints.{{cite book|last=Friedman|first=Vanessa|title=Emilio Pucci Fashion Story|year=2010|publisher=Taschen/EmilioPucci/Emilio Pucci Foundation|location=Hohenzollernring|isbn=978-3-8365-0736-3|pages=312–319}}

Image:Apollo 15-insignia.png

Pucci suggested the three bird motif for the design of the Apollo 15 mission patch.

From 1976 to 1983, Pucci chose exterior and interior colors and trim for a special Pucci Edition of the Lincoln Mark series of automobiles for the luxury Lincoln division of Ford Motor Company in the United States: a Mark IV in 1976,{{cite book |title=1976 Continental Mark IVx |url=http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/NA/Lincoln/1976_Lincoln/1976_Lincoln_Continental_Mark_IV_Brochure/1976%20Lincoln%20Continental%20Mark%20IV-02.html |location=Dearborn, Michigan |publisher=Lincoln Division, Ford Motor Company |date=1975-08-01 |access-date=2022-06-12}} a Mark V from 1977{{cite book |title=1977 Continental Mark V |url=http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/NA/Lincoln/1977_Lincoln/1977_Continental_Mark_V_Brochure/1977%20Continental%20Mark%20V-15.html |location=Dearborn, Michigan |publisher=Lincoln Division, Ford Motor Company |date=1976-08-01 |pages=14–15 |access-date=2022-06-12}} to 1979,{{cite book |title=1979 Continental Mark V |url=http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/NA/Lincoln/1979%20Lincoln/1979%20Continental%20Mark%20V%20Brochure/1979%20Continental%20Mark%20V-11.html |location=Dearborn, Michigan |publisher=Lincoln Division, Ford Motor Company |date=1978-08-01 |pages=10–11 |access-date=2022-06-12}} and a Mark VI from 1980 to 1983,{{cite book |title=1983 Lincoln – Mark VI – Continental |url=http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/NA/Lincoln/1983%20Lincoln/1983%20Lincoln%20Full%20Line%20Brochure/image10.html |location=Dearborn, Michigan |publisher=Lincoln Division, Ford Motor Company |date=1982-08-01 |pages=18–19 |access-date=2022-06-12}} the details of the design changing slightly each year.

Pucci contested the Florence–Pistoia district for the Italian Liberal Party in the Italian election of April 1963. He came second on their slate with 2,780 votes behind Vittorio Fossombroni, and the party won one seat.{{cite web|url=http://elezionistorico.interno.it/candidatodilista.php?tp=C&dt=28/04/1963&cta=I&tpEnte=I&tpSeg=C&numEnte=14&sut1=&sut2=&sut3=&descEnte=%20Circoscrizione:%20FIRENZE-PISTOIA&descArea=&numLista=2&descLista=PLI |title=Elezioni della Camera dei Deputati del 28 Aprile 1963 Circoscrizione: Firenze-Pistoia |publisher=Ministry of the Interior, Italy |access-date=23 April 2008 |language=it }}{{dead link|date=May 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} He succeeded Fossombroni in the Italian Chamber of Deputies in August of that year.

He retained his seat in the 1968 election and lost it in the 1972 election,{{Citation|publication-date=22 May 1972|year=1972|title=Forward to the Past|magazine=Time|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,879081,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090302010816/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,879081,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 March 2009|access-date=23 April 2008}} in which he was the district's top PLI candidate with 4,231 votes.{{cite web|url=http://elezionistorico.interno.it/candidatodilista.php?tp=C&dt=07/05/1972&cta=I&tpEnte=I&tpSeg=C&numEnte=14&sut1=&sut2=&sut3=&descEnte=%20Circoscrizione:%20FIRENZE-PISTOIA&descArea=&numLista=6&descLista=PLI |title=Elezioni della Camera dei Deputati del 7 Maggio 1972 Circoscrizione: Firenze-Pistoia |publisher=Ministry of the Interior, Italy |access-date=23 April 2008 |language=it}}{{dead link|date=May 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}

File:Pucci Skirt and Dress Montreal.jpg

After Emilio Pucci's death in 1992, his daughter, Laudomia Pucci, continued to design under the Pucci name. The French LVMH luxury goods empire acquired 67% of Pucci in 2000. Laudomia became Image Director, while LVMH brought in major designers such as Christian Lacroix (creative director 2002–2005), and in October 2005, Matthew Williamson, and Peter Dundas from 2009.{{citation needed|date=January 2016}}

Emilio Pucci clothes and accessories are sold through Emilio Pucci and Rossignol boutiques worldwide, and in high-end department stores designed by {{Ill|Lena Pessoa|fr|Lena Pessoa|vertical-align=sup}}. The items mostly feature the designer's original brightly coloured, often swirly, prints or new designs in his original distinct style. The fashion house produces ready-to-wear clothes and accessories for women, in addition to a small range of men's accessories. In the past, the house has produced a more comprehensive range of men's wear, including a line in partnership with Ermenegildo Zegna, which included men's jackets lined with Pucci printed fabric, especially for American department store Saks Fifth Avenue. A limited-edition Pucci carrying case for the PlayStation Portable handheld gaming system was marketed by Sony as a high-end accessory on their PlayStation Signature line.{{Cite web|last=Block|first=Ryan|date=29 May 2006|title=Sony's PlayStation Signature line of accessories|url=https://www.engadget.com/2006-05-29-sonys-playstation-signature-line-of-accessories.html|access-date=6 July 2020|website=Engadget|language=en}}

Pucci boutiques in the U.S., all designed by the Brazilian {{Ill|Lena Pessoa|fr|Lena Pessoa|vertical-align=sup}}, are located in New York City, Las Vegas, Bal Harbour, Palm Beach, Beverly Hills, Boston, South Coast Plaza, East Hampton, New York, Miami and coming soon to Dallas. The newest of the stores just opened at 855 Monroe Ave. in New York City.{{citation needed|date=January 2016}}

Clients include singer Kylie Minogue{{Cite web|url=http://www.redcarpet-fashionawards.com/2010/05/20/runway-to-aqua-kyoto-restaurant-kylie-minogue-in-emilio-pucci|title=Runway To Aqua Kyoto Restaurant - Kylie Minogue in Emilio Pucci|publisher=Red Carpet Fashion Awards|date=20 September 2010|access-date=6 January 2016}} and presenter Alexa Chung.[http://www.harpersbazaar.com/bazaar-blog/best-dressed-list-110411] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120117153201/http://www.harpersbazaar.com/bazaar-blog/best-dressed-list-110411|date=17 January 2012}}

Pucci also designed the costumes for Rita Ora's Radioactive Tour.{{Cite web|url=http://www.vogue.co.uk/news/2013/01/29/rita-ora-radioactive-tour-costumes---emilio-pucci---designed-by-peter-dundas|title=Rita Ora Radioactive Tour Costumes|website=Vogue.co.uk|date=29 January 2013|access-date=6 January 2016}} In March 2014, Alessandra Carra stepped down as CEO of Pucci.{{Cite web |last1=Zargani |first1=Luisa |last2=Socha |first2=Miles|title=Alessandra Carra Steps Down as Pucci CEO |url=http://www.wwd.com/business-news/human-resources/alessandra-carra-steps-down-as-pucci-ceo-7584202?src=nl/mornReport/20140313 |work=Women's Wear Daily |date=12 March 2014|access-date=13 March 2014}} In March 2015, Massino Giorgetti was named creative director, replacing Peter Dundas.{{Cite web |last=Fernandez |first=Chantal |author-link=Chantal Fernandez |title=Pucci Hires MSGM's Massimo Giorgetti as Its New Creative Director |url=https://fashionista.com/2015/03/massimo-giorgetti-pucci |access-date=2022-08-30 |website=Fashionista |language=en}} Then from 2017 to 2021, Pucci operated without a creative director, relying on a team of designers. Since June 2021, LVMH owns 100% of Pucci. Laudomia Pucci remained in charge of the house's archives and heritage.{{Cite web |last1=Socha |first1=Miles |last2=Zargani |first2=Luisa |date=2021-06-18 |title=LVMH Takes Full Control of Emilio Pucci |url=https://wwd.com/business-news/mergers-acquisitions/lvmh-pucci-acquires-shares-owns1234849098-1234849098/ |work=Women's Wear Daily |access-date=2022-08-30 |language=en-US}} In September 2021, Camille Miceli became creative director of Pucci.{{Cite web |date=2021-09-01 |title=Camille Miceli Named Artistic Director of Emilio Pucci |url=https://www.vogue.com/article/camille-miceli-named-artistic-director-of-emilio-pucci |access-date=2022-08-30 |website=Vogue |language=en-US}} In July 2022, Saar Debrouwere took over as CEO of the fashion house.{{Cite web |date=2022-06-08 |title=Emilio Pucci appoints Saar Debrouwere as CEO |url=https://www.voguebusiness.com/companies/emilio-pucci-appoints-saar-debrouwere-as-ceo |access-date=2022-08-30 |website=Vogue Business |language=en-US}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

• {{FMD designer}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20081108131747/http://espresso.repubblica.it/style_design/home/699731 Pucci since 1948]—Photos of Pucci designs through time, including Poppi de Salis wearing one of the original skirts
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20081108131757/http://espresso.repubblica.it/style_design/home/700028 Pucci 2000–2007]—Photos of some recent Pucci designs

{{Grands couturiers}}

{{LVMH}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pucci, Emilio}}

Category:1914 births

Category:1992 deaths

Category:Clothing companies established in 1947

Category:Clothing companies of Italy

Category:Companies based in Tuscany

Category:Design companies established in 1947

Category:Fashion designers from Florence

Category:High fashion brands

Category:Italian brands

Category:Italian companies established in 1947

Category:Italian fashion designers

Category:Italian World War II pilots

Category:LVMH brands

Category:Politicians from Florence

Emilio

Category:Reed College alumni

Category:Regia Aeronautica personnel of World War II