A Brief History of EMILIO PUCCI ~ World Fashion Sites

The Emilio Pucci fashion house was founded in 1951 by Emilio Pucci, Marquis of Barsento.

Four years before, in 1947, the designer created a ski ensemble that comprised a hooded parka and tapered ski-pants. The outfit, worn by a friend on the Swiss slopes of Zermatt, was captured by photographer Toni Frissel who would later immortalize many of Emilio Pucci’s designs in his photographs.

But it was not until 1950 that Emilio Pucci decided to dedicate himself fully to the fashion business. A year later, Emilio Pucci presented his first collection at the Palazzo Pitti in Florence, introducing a new style called sportswear chic.

The designer’s early collections were characterized by a predominant reliance on black and white, but by 1953, he started working meticulously with bright colors. With this new direction, Emilio Pucci’s following collections featured vivid psychedelic prints, an exception in the fashion world at the time. Emilio Pucci’s boldness paid off when his collections became popular.

In addition to his aesthetic eye for fashion, the designer was also a marketing genius, expanding his brand to make it accessible to a wider audience by introducing lingerie, leather, perfume, and bed linen lines.

When Emilio Pucci died in 1992, his daughter Laudomia Pucci managed the family company for eight years until it was bought by Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy in April 2000.

The company went through many Creative Directors during the next eight years including Julio Espada, Christian Lacroix, and Matthew Williamson.

In October 2009, Peter Dundas was hired as the label’s Creative Director. The Norwegian-American designer both maintained and veered away from the brand’s longstanding image, by creating a vibrant bohemian universe with glamorous and provocative silhouettes, heavily influenced by the 1970’s.

Then in 2015, Massimo Giorgetti became the new Creative Director, but soon departed after two years at Emilio Pucci. This acclaimed Milan designer decided to focus more on his own brand, MSGM, which was founded in 2009 and quickly skyrocketed to huge commercial success.

Now remains one question, who will be the new Creative Director of Emilio Pucci? One thing is for certain, is that Fashion loves to play musical chairs; Creative Directors keep jumping from house to house!

Take a look at our favorite design from each season, and the latest ad campaigns for Emilio Pucci.