Fashion icon Emilio Pucci's daughter, Laudomia Pucci on the brand's remarkable legacy, the family museum, and more

In 1947, Florentina aristocrat Marquis Emilio Pucci founded his label and established his headquarters inside his family’s palazzo in Florence, Italy. Fast forward to the present day and the fashion home is a global name that's renowned for its geometric patterns and glamourous outfits. A major reason why, is his daughter Laudomia Pucci, the brand’s Image Director and former CEO.

Pucci, in an exclusive interview with Bazaar India, speaks about her father, what makes Pucci collections stand out, the Emilio Pucci Heritage Museum in Florence, and more. 

Harper’s Bazaar: Let’s first talk about your father, the legendary Emilio Pucci. How did he get into the fashion business?

Laudomia Pucci: We have to go back to the post-war period. My father was in Switzerland, recuperating from war injuries, and to make a living he was teaching the two things he knew how to do: teach Italian and give skiing lessons (he had been in the Italian Olympic team since 1934 and participated in the 1936 winter Olympic Games). He had designed a ski suit for himself inspired by the army uniform he used to wear and added some elastic under the foot to allow the body to move while skiing. One day, he met on the slopes of Zermatt, a young American lady who was lost and helped her climb down the mountain. They became friends and a few days later she was wearing his suit on the slopes. By pure chance, a photographer—Toni Frissel—happened to be there and took a picture of the young lady. This picture ended up on the desk of Diana Vreeland, at that time the editor-in-chief of Harper’s Bazaar US. I do not know how she managed to call my father (in 1947) and over the phone she asked him to design a ski collection that would be produced by an American firm in Portland and sold at Lord and Taylor.

HB: How did he visualise such unique colours and geometric prints that make Pucci collections very distinctive from the rest?

LP: His mother was from Naples and his father had a strong Russian influence due to his mother and grandmother (both Russians from St Petersburg). It has been said that the two strong references gifted him with a passion for Mediterranean colours and strong prints.

HB: How are the prints made? What is the creative as well as production process involved in this?

LP: When he started, all processes were handmade in Como, Italy. The scarf screens (most of his prints were born as scarves and then eventually he would use the scarves to make dresses, shirts, and also bikinis) and the dyes were hand mixed. However, it is key to know that he also innovated in fabric research, creating various stretch fabrics. He also came up with the silk jersey which was probably his most successful innovation in terms of fabrications.

HB: Fringes and pearls also played a very important role in Pucci collections. What’s the story behind it?

LP: He liked and used fringes quite a lot, mainly in the late ’60s and ’70s as they completed dresses, tops, and pants and also hats. They added movement to the body and, I believe, enhanced the sexy feminine feel of his collections. He used a lot of beading. In fact, in our house from the mid-’50s to the late ’80s we had three workshops on the ground floor in frescoed rooms; one of the ateliers was dedicated to beading. He engineered some amazing pearl bikinis as an homage to the Birth of Venus by Botticelli.

HB: How was it working with such a creative genius like your father?

LP: When I started working with him in 1985, I was 23 and he was 70. Despite his age, he still had an incredible joy in creating and a young vision. He anticipated the end of minimalism and the return to colour in the late ’80s much to my surprise! He also infused in me a passion for his job, from fittings to drawing prints and working on colour combinations, to meeting clients to basically learning every aspect of the business...he was an amazing teacher. 

HB: What is the idea behind the Palazzo Pucci and the Emilio Pucci Heritage Museum in Florence?

LP: When the Pucci company moved to Milano in 2017 after more than seven decades in Florence, I thought I should try and create something with the archives as they belong to my family. At first, we worked with young talents from schools and interns from all over the world, to tell our history, create projects, and events and publications; the result of that was “Bonaveri, a fan of Pucci”—a collaboration with the historical Bonaveri mannequin company for an event—as well as a publication with Rizzoli, called Unexpected Pucci. But it all came to an end with Covid. At present, I am working on a larger project but I don’t want it to be a museum as there are already 69 museums in Florence (and I cannot compete with so much beauty and art). However, I am trying to create an innovative cultural project.

HB: What are the highlights of the museum?

LP: The highlight is probably the fact that we offer what we believe is “experiential luxury”. In fact, we are not open to the public. We offer private visits. We have also set up an apartment where you can lounge, have drinks, eat lunch, read books, etc., and of course, visit the archives, as well as, the fashion displays. Basically, you can easily spend half a day or more with us and also meet artisans who present their work and show you every aspect of their products. We offer a new way to spend a day in Florence in a private home with history and a very contemporary feel and narrative. Besides, we have part of the IED school classes working at the Palazzo and that fills me with joy as we have the sewing machines back in the rooms (just like when I was growing up) and the youngsters have the opportunity to live every day at the place that inspired my father and other designers so much. For them, we set up the “fun parade” in the entrance hall, to give them a touch of inspiration.

HB: The Sala Bianca section in the museum in particular is very fascinating. Could you please share more details?

LP: The Sala Bianca setup is inspired by the Met Gala. We imagined every mannequin, dress, and pose to mimic the celebrities who walk down that red carpet… from Beyoncé to Kate Moss. The following room is “the couture room” which also displays celebrity (looks) and red-carpet evening gowns. The last room, dedicated to celebs, displays looks worn by Marilyn Monroe (exact same styles) and Amy Winehouse, just to mention a few.

HB: Could you give an insight into the “Bisazza Wears Emilio Pucci”?

LP: Rossella Bisazza, the owner (with her brother) of the Bisazza mosaic company is a friend of mine and has always loved Pucci collections. She once asked me to collaborate with her and create a collection that has been used in various ways—from the most classic use in bathrooms to pools to works of art. We have reproduced the prints on a very large scale and they have been made in the traditional manner with hand-cut mosaics creating again a unique piece of art. As you can see I am always fascinated by the manufacturing and artistic know-how, be it in fashion, design, glass or silver.

HB: How did the ‘Madame’ chairs by Philippe Starck and Emilio Pucci collaboration come about?

LP: I admire what Kartel has done as a design company and they are always looking for collaborations and I think Philippe Starck is a genius. When they offered us the possibility to work together, I took on the challenge with joy and we celebrated the Madame collection by decorating the chairs with Pucci scarfs that were inspired by different cities like Rome, Milano, Shanghai, and New York.