Peter Dundas is still coming off the high of seeing his dresses on the red carpet at Cannes last month. "It's nice to be on an elevator going up," he said, rather fittingly, at a penthouse presentation of his Resort collection for Pucci. The Florentine label has that famous Mediterranean summer vibe in its blood lines, and with a coffee-table book on the history of the house coming out later this summer, Dundas had lots of material to rifle through for inspiration.
Channeling Jane Birkin, Julie Christie, Bianca Jagger, and their fabulous kind, he turned out long-sleeve minidresses in guipure lace; sheer, breezy caftans to wear over matching bikinis; and seventies-inflected washed linen three-piece suits. But this wasn't a retro rehash. Exploring effects similar to the ones he used for Fall, the designer purposely faded or over-dyed the house's familiar prints; the cotton silk voile tank dresses didn't look as if they'd been worn every summer for years, but, thanks to the treatments, they felt as soft as if they had been. After dark, Dundas amped up the sex appeal—a key factor in the energy he's brought to this house. Those micro-minidresses that got all that publicity in Cannes are back and beaded all over in a butterfly motif. More celebrity material for the next Pucci retrospective.
