“I’m really into studying Emilio Pucci’s archive very seriously,” Massimo Giorgetti said during a presentation of his new Resort collection at the label’s lavishly stuccoed Milanese showroom. “At the beginning, when I started working at this historical house, I relied on my usual instinctive approach. Now I’m delving more deeply into its legacy, trying to find a personal interpretation, respectful yet modern.” He kept questioning himself: What does the word luxury mean today? “It's a state of mind,” he enthused. “I think of luxury as free time well spent in beautiful places.” That was very much the attitude that Marquis Emilio Pucci di Barsento, infused in his work: a love for cultivated leisure, holiday as a place and time for elegant curiosity, and open-mindedness.
Giorgetti is reaffirming the house’s codes, shuffling a few stylistic elements and adding a touch of quirk. The Resort lineup proved an example of this direction. The lookbook was shot at the Museo Marino Marini in Florence, a modernist gem hidden in the city center, with the models looking like slightly eccentric tourists enthralled by the peculiar artsy vibe of the space. Updated versions of a ’50s Pucci fringed straw hat emphasized the sense of off-kilter elegance. Giorgetti played with asymmetries, giving a sense of movement to circle skirts worn with printed cotton brassieres. Flounces were counterbalanced by substantial tech fabrics with a luxe finish, as in laser-cut embroideries on poplin, stretch crinkled satins, 3-D macramé appliqués, and cottons bonded with raffia. The high-tech vibe was gracefully handled, as were the athletic references. As for the iconic colorful Pucci prints, they sprung from the archive ready to be reworked and re-energized, their names a testament to Marquis Pucci’s genial sophistication: the Vortex, the Bamboo, the Bermuda Combo Dance, the Buttercups. Giorgetti added his own version to the list; a swirling curlicued Deco motif was inspired by the swimming pool at Miami’s The Raleigh Hotel. The holiday spirit is definitely alive and kicking chez Pucci.
