CAMILE MICELI’S FRESH SPIN ON PUCCI’S RETRO GLAM SEDUCES GLITTERATI AND GEN-Z ALIKE

BY RHIANNA JONES

Once upon a time, the irreverent Italian designer Emilio Pucci said, “If something has an aesthetic value and is pleasing to watch or wear, it may in fact have nothing to do with status symbol. You just like to wear it.” For him, material goods bore little significance; instead, he was selling “spiritual values and sensations.” Today, in a landscape where people tend to curate their style for likes rather than life itself, this anti-consumerist philosophy feels romantic, but far from reality. And yet, Pucci’s brand DNA is rooted in fantasy and frivolity, having launched his eponymous line in 1947 not in a fashion capital, but the jet-set oasis of Capri.

The brand’s taste for glitz and glam sprang from Pucci’s aristocratic upbringing, born into one of Florence’s oldest noble families, and becoming a near Olympic skier as a teen. A chance encounter designing skiwear for his friend landed his work in Bazaar’s 1948 European Winter Fashion, thus launching his foray into luxury sportswear. He then launched a collection of swimwear and silk scarves, and the rest is haute couture history. Pucci was rather pioneering, considering his brightly colored and billowing pieces debuted simultaneously with Dior’s “New Look” in an era abounding with structured silhouettes and somber tones. But his happy hues won the hearts of many of the day’s fashion elite, from Marilyn Monroe to Jackie O, designing until his death in 1992. After passing the torch to Christian Lacroix, Matthew Williamson, and Peter Dundas, it is now Camille Miceli’s turn to put her Midas touch on the legacy house.

While Miceli herself might not be a household name, having worked everywhere from Chanel and Raf Simons to Galliano’s Dior and Ghesquière’s Vuitton, her resume is the stuff of fashion legends. As such, her inaugural unveiling transported us right back to where the magic started, Emilio’s cherished isle of Capri. And despite the nostalgia in the air, for Miceli, an anchor of newness was of primary importance. As told to Vogue, “This was the perfect place to communicate with the new Pucci community. It’s important for me that people don’t feel left out of the experience.” In her vision to seduce both Pucci’s old-school glitterati and new-age Gen-Z, she released the line not via traditional runways and retail, but through a series of “drops.” The first drop, “La Grotta Azzura,” a collective of ethereal caftans and chion robes inspired by Capri’s Blue Grotto, dropped exclusively at My eresa.com late April.

In an era of algorithmic aesthetics, Miceli’s move toward popping prints and dropping debuts aligns well with the legion of young designers that continue to flourish with the street wear non-runway approach. But despite the contemporary see-now, buy-now strategy, her design approach evokes the house’s human touch and heritage. She tapped into Pucci’s historic, hallucinogenic ‘70s prints for the debut, having them hand drawn vs. computer generated as they’ve been in the past. This was a return to a more thoughtful, curious, and intentional style of design. Printed sportswear, fringed mini dresses, and silk cross body bags all maintained Pucci’s quintessential whimsy with a fresh injection of city chic. They’re the kind of pieces one can wear with ease. The kind of pieces, in Emilio’s words, you just like to wear.

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