Delphine Arnault, Matthew Williamson and Laudomia Pucci
Delphine Arnault, Matthew Williamson and Laudomia Pucci

DALLAS, Dec 6, 2007 / FW / — Emilio Pucci celebrated its 60th anniversary in style during the Art Basel Miami Beach in an invitation-only brunch and dinner hosted by Julie Dill, Christina Getty Maercks & Gillian Minter with Laudomia Pucci, the late designer’s daughter as the guest of honor.

The now iconic Pucci prints defined the 1960s fashion to the point that it has become part of pop culture. For the past several years, the Italian maison has staged its own resurgence under the helm of Christian Lacroix and Matthew Williamson. Added to that, fashion designers today honor Emilio Pucci with collections based on the prints created by the Italian designer.

In a lot of ways, celebrating the brand’s 60th anniversary in the U.S. is very fitting. After all, it was Harper’s Bazaar that literally catapulted Emilio Pucci into becoming the King of Prints.

It was in 1947, at St. Moritz when Toni Frissel of Harper Bazaar took a photo of one of Emilio Pucci’s creations. When the picture was carried at the December issue of the glossy, American retailers that included Lord & Taylor went gaga over the avant-garde design. Orders came in and Pucci’s fashion career would span over 45 years, ending with his death in 1992.

The Art Basel Miami Beach is also the perfect setting to celebrate the brand’s diamond milestone. “It’s sun, it’s sea, it’s fun, it’s art,” Laudomia Pucci told the Miami Herald in an interview, describing both Miami and Art Basel. And those three things also describe the Italian maison’s identity.

As part of Pucci’s 60th anniversary commemoration, a stunning installation by renowned visual artist Gerard Cholot also greeted the dinner guests Wednesday, December 5th.

Cholot recreated his beautiful May ‘07 transformation of the Palazzo Pucci’s courtyard, which celebrated the 60th anniversary of Emilio Pucci in Florence, Italy.

[MARI DAVIS]
Photos courtesy of Emilio Pucci