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Perhaps it was the easy, leisurely spring mood of an evening in Rome, and none of the frenzy of a tightly packed fashion calendar, but Emilio Pucci’s show on Thursday evening felt like a reunion of friends having fun.
Cue the loud cheering and clapping when Christy Turlington Burns opened the show, not to mention when Isabella Rossellini closed it. “I had a lot of fun. I mean, Pucci is all about joie de vivre and fun, so we mimic that spirit,” said Rossellini after the show, still beaming after her twirls a few minutes earlier, when she wove her way through the strategically lit antique statues of Palazzo Altemps, wearing a Vivara sponge caftan.
“I loved the new shapes of the caftans, a bit of the ’20s or the ’60s, a bit of a witchy vibe, perfect for this transitional time, a little bit dark but also bold, and perfect for L.A.,” said Patricia Arquette. Next to her, Silvia Venturini Fendi agreed and said that the collection was “very cinematic, I loved the headpieces. And what a surprise to see Isabella at the end, it was fantastic.”
Rossellini was actually “the starting point,” explained Pucci’s artistic director Camille Miceli earlier in the day, “because she did a shoot with Steven Meisel in 1990 for Vogue Italia, all in Pucci, wearing Vivara. I really wanted her, I love her as a woman, what she represents, her activities, her cultural side, the [Mama] Farm, the eggs, and all that. I find it all super contemporary, and she’s super fun, a wonderful woman.”
Likewise, Miceli enthused about Turlington Burns. “She is a dream to me; we met in 1989, I was at Chanel [where Miceli interned and then became a publicist for seven years] and we used to hang out together.” Speaking of Eva Herzigova, who walked shortly after Turlington Burns, she said she was “a dear friend, I met her when she came to Chanel for the first time. I feel it’s good to have your community with you, to have friends around, you feel better,” she said, hugging herself.
Pucci is one of the few brands still embracing the see now, buy now format, and Miceli presented her spring 2024 collection in Rome. “I love the format,” she exclaimed joyfully. “It’s so appropriate for today. Pucci is different, because of its history and the prints, it’s not like other brands and we cannot treat it as other brands. We are in a time when people are forgetting what they see from one week to the next, so I want to sell and show what they can buy, but this does not mean we don’t work like the others. This collection has been ready since October, when we sold it, it’s just the timing of the reveal that is different,” she pointed out.
After showing her collections for Pucci in Capri and Saint Moritz as experiential events, in May last year Miceli held her first show in Florence, Emilio Pucci’s birthplace, on the banks of the river Arno and this year, she opted for the Italian capital, staging it inside the frescoed 15th century Palazzo Altemps, which today houses a national museum.
She admitted she had also thought of showing on the bridge that connects the island of Vivara, which gives the name to one of Pucci’s most famous prints, to Procida, near Capri and Ischia.
“I didn’t feel like taking a risk with the weather,” she confessed simply, after successfully avoiding the rain with the previous events. Rome was not a second-best choice, as she enthused about the city and the Palazzo, which she described as “a hidden luxury” as it is not widely known by tourists. It also has the added advantage of a downstairs theater, as she remarked that she likes to hold a dinner party right after and near the show.
“I love its courtyard, the frescoes, it’s all quite magic, all this fantasy of Rome, the colors, and the statues are absolutely incredible. At the same time, it’s quite raw, with the cotto floors.”
Also, the palazzo contributes to delivering a message. “I am trying more and more to establish the brand in the city and for everyday life, from daywear to evening, so that people don’t consider it only for the summer. I really want to have people think about Pucci for their everyday life,” she explained.
She is succeeding, as the collection was solid and convincing, with a clear focus. Miceli appears to be increasingly confident, experimenting more with the brand’s codes and evolving them. She knows her customers, and this lineup was one of her best.
Miceli believes in “insisting, engraving a message in the mind.” Accordingly, she has decided to offer a few garments season after season, such as the denim pants with a revisited marble print she was wearing during the interview. “They are from last year but it’s good to show them again,” she said, pointing to her jeans. A statement that is as modern as can be, as timeless seems to be an attribute designers are swearing by now.
There is no doubt founder Emilio Pucci is a beacon for Miceli, who enthused about his “fantasy” in conceiving prints “that never die” and describing him as “a master in drawing.” At the same time, however, Miceli is very much in sync with the times, and she adds her own playful, almost hippie touch, with an infectious energy and passion for her job.
In addition to Vivara, three prints defined the season. Cigni [swans], with the birds’ stylized and elegant necks running down a beautiful sequined evening dress; Bersaglio [target] with its swirls and curls appearing on a patchwork foulard dress, and Chiave [key], which put a Pucci spin on a pantsuit with stripes. There was also the signature Marmo [marble], expanded for a bolder effect, especially on the latest laser-treated denim, which included lighter chambray. Pesci [fish] and Iride [iris] continued to appear across the entire wardrobe, on crisp poplin blouses or fluid jersey dresses.
While some of the prints were supersized, Miceli balanced them by breaking them up in some designs, as details on the cuffs or the collars of a gabardine blazer, as inlays in a miniskirt, or as fringes on HotPants. There were several asymmetric tops and skirts, which, together with tattoo and drop-hole tops and jumpsuits, looked playful yet sophisticated.
For the finale, a series of Vivara hooded dresses and caftans in a sponge material nodded to the archives.
Ready-to-wear accounts for most of the sales, so Miceli sees great potential in the accessories segment, which was clearly expanded, also including bold jewelry, such as earrings with colorful discs, and she appeared to have great fun with them, adding scarf detailing on the raffia bags, the new Mela bag, or the flat sandals. “The Pulcinella bag last year sold very well, and there is a demand, so we decided to develop them more.” There were clutches in Iride-patterned nylon, raffia top-flap bags and totes.
Sandals showed curvy heels inspired by Marmo’s lines, or they were outlined by leaves of leather running up the calf of the models.
Miceli also introduced a dog line, with tiny coats, dog leashes and other accessories.
The color palette included earthy and classic hues, from beige to sage and khaki, contrasting with vivid red, purple and pink, or the azure and blue and purple shades of the water, sun and moon Vivara print, which dates back to 1965.
