Pucci (Updated Edition) by Vanessa Friedman XL Taschen Book

Bright colors, bold prints, and joie-de-vivre flair abound in this must-have tribute to Pucci, the fashion house like no other. Packed full of archival photography, sketches, designs and evocative ephemera, this updated XL edition captures the breathtaking elegance, drama, and innovation of a unique brand. Each book is uniquely bound with one of a selection of original print fabrics from Emilio Pucci’s collection.

Emilio Pucci had a passion for women, a visionary sense of style and an eye for color and design. With these talents, he created a fashion house unlike any other. By the early ’50s, his boutique on the isle of Capri was catering to wealthy sophisticates, heiresses, and movie stars buying his “Capri pants,” silk scarves and lightweight separates. By the end of the decade, Jacqueline Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe were wearing his dresses, and by the mid-’60s, the label was synonymous with the gilded lifestyle of an international jet set.

The Pucci story is a modern epic with its roots in renaissance Italy. The brand’s founder, the Marchese Emilio Pucci di Barsento, was a charismatic aristocrat whose lineage extends back to the 15th century. It is a story of evolution: a family company that grew from one tiny store to an international brand. And finally, it is a tale of innovation: Pucci was one of the first brands to bear a logo, and a pioneer of diversification into interiors, athletic wear and accessories. It introduced free-moving, lightweight fabrics, pop-art prints and a new color palette into womenswear, and constantly pushed fabric and printing technologies.

Featuring hundreds of photographs, drawings, and candid shots from the archive of the Emilio Pucci Foundation, this XL tome captures the breathtaking elegance and drama of a unique brand. Vanessa Friedman’s text places Emilio’s achievements in the context of fashion history and provides insight into the remarkable Pucci dynasty.

The author

Vanessa Friedman is the fashion director and chief fashion critic of The New York Times. Previously, she was the fashion editor of the Financial Times, features director of UK In Style, and contributed regularly to The Economist, The New Yorker, and Vogue. She is the winner of the Fashion Group International’s Media Award, the Newswomen’s Club of New York Front Page award for specialty writing, and the Fashion/Beauty Monitor’s Fashion Journalist of the Year award, and is on the advisory council of Princeton University’s History Department.

The contributing authors

Alessandra Arezzi Boza is a Costume and Fashion historian. She has worked as a consultant for the Costume Gallery at Palazzo Pitti in Florence and in several projects for fashion houses and their archives. She was the curator of the Emilio Pucci Archive Foundation from 2001 to 2015.

In 1985, Laudomia Pucci graduated from Luiss University Rome in Economics and Politics and joined Emilio Pucci in Florence. She took over the company from her father in 1989 and in 2000 became Deputy Chairman and Image Director. She is a VP and board member of Altagamma, Polimoda Srl, Salini Impregilo, Sotheby’s, Palazzo Strozzi Foundation Usa and member of steering committee of Ente Cassa di Risparmio Firenze.

The editor

Armando Chitolina worked as a design consultant and art director at Vogue Italia and L'Uomo Vogue. He also worked as image consultant for fashion houses Moschino and Mila Schön. His TASCHEN titles include William Claxton's Jazz Seen, Gian Paolo Barbieri's Equator, The Book of Tiki, Naked as a Jaybird and Valentino: A Grand Italian Epic.

Hardcover, 14.2 x 14.2 in., 448 pages