Power to Pucci

Founded: 1947 by Emilio Pucci
Country: Florence, Italy
Creative Director- Peter Dundas
Website: www.emiliopucci.com

I have always loved Pucci. Since I was a little girl, I have always been drawn to their exciting, colourful prints and Peter Dundas' sexy interpretation of the old fashion house. The catwalk shows themsleves have always captured the esssence and history of Italy and Pucci, with a host of famous models always storming the runway at the biannual shows.What's more, the clothes are extremelly glamorous and could sit quite comfortably on a yacht in the South of France or at the iconic Ritz hotel in London. Pucci is most definetly powerful, punchy and perfectly printed.

Emilio Pucci, born in 1914 to one of Italy's oldest noble families, had an idylic upbringing in the Pucci Palace in Florence. The young man was good at sports and competed as part of the Italian national team at the 1932 Winter Olympics while attending university in America. When the Second World War engulfed Europe in 1939, Pucci played a vital role in helping Mussulini's daughter flee the country along with her husband, which later resulted in Pucci's capture and torture at the hands of the Gestapo. On a lighter note, Pucci's fashion career was always apparent in his love for clothes and design.

Using his knowledge of stretch fabrics, he set up his line self titiled 'Emilio Pucci' in 1947, selling jet set swimwear, later branching out into silk scarves and blouses with his iconic bright prints. As business flourished, Pucci opened stores across Italy including Milan and then across Europe and America while also designing uniforms for airlines and various companies. Soon after, everyone from Sophia Loren and Marilyn Monroe to Jackie Kennedey was wearing his clothes, with Monroe famously buried in a Pucci dress.

Jump forward to 1992 and Laudomia Pucci daughter of Emilio continued designing at her fathers brand but later sold 67% of the luxury fashion house to the LVMH group in 2000. With designers such as Christian Lacriox and Matthew Williamson holding the title of creative director at Pucci, the brand was certainly one of the star attractions at Milan Fashion Week. However since Peter Dundas took the reigns in 2009, Pucci has seen a dramatic rise in sales, popularity and aura amongst the fashion elite. The clothes are elegant with lots of glam thrown in to add to the maximalist Italian feel. The Pucci prints are as prominent as ever featuring in most RTW collections as well as part of the cruise/resort lines and remain a vital part of the brands DNA.

For Spring/Summer 2015, the Emilio Pucci show was one of my favourites at Milan Fashion Week. With appearences by sought after models Natasha Poly, Isabeli Fontana, Joan Smalls, Kendall Jenner and Malaika Firth as well as catwalk veteran Naomi Campbell, this collection just oozed glamour.

The clever tie-dye dresses in pink, blue and white where summery and beautiul, the gold accessorires enhanced the wearability of the clothes while the fun 1970's spirirt gave the collection a place in various magazine spreads on the top trends for Spring. The flared sude trousers were super cool, I loved the tassell crochet dresses and the sexy knee high boots were just the kind every woman wants in her wardrobe. It's fair to say Peter Dundas knows his Pucci customer and does not dissapoint in his catwalk collections for the brand.

If I could afford it, I would dress head to toe in Pucci - breakfast, lunch and dinner! But since I can't, I'll just have to make do with the catwalk copies found on the high street. Who can't resisit a bit of Pucci?