Emilio Pucci Spring Summer 2013

A soaring, sober elegance. Light as air. 

For Spring Summer 2013 collection, Emilio Pucci Creative Director Peter Dundas recalibrates his electric vision of glamour towards a graceful sensuality. Touched with the quiet opulence of Indochina and the ease of summer, a softer subtleness slowly unfurls this season. The Pucci girl emerges with her strength on the inside and a fresh coat of serenity on the outside.

Transparencies define the new lightness. Sheer tunics, layered over diaphanous chiffon trousers, sleeveless

tops and silk crepe dresses, create a graphic veiling effect. Intricate white thread embroidery depicting dragons and tigers emerges as a lavish whisper of texture and pattern on the all-white canvases.  Pattern, softened and sensual, gets drawn onto the body like a tattoo on transparent micro-beaded outerwear, or on embroidered column dresses with veils on the outside. Pucci’s 1972 Elisse print, in a raspberry/black or almond green/tobacco version, has been modernized with a wood blocking effect, while a tiger striped camouflage print offers a graphic punch. Shots of mango and bright blueberry stand out against a clean base of black and white.

An exploration of softness yields new, feminine shapes. A cropped printed bomber with Pucci squadron

patches, this season’s take on tailoring, is paired with parachute silk cargo or pajama pants. Tunics or kimono jackets – like an army green version plotted with embroidered flight destinations - are belted and paired with flared shorts. The aviation flight suit gets recharged with embroideries and print. A hint of the subversive emerges in flashes of Vietnamese underpinnings, detached linings and knot closures piecing together taught skirts and Chinese jackets. Light touches of decadence materialize for evening where hand painted gold dragons, tigers and fauna, are re-embroidered onto silk crepe for a gilded effect. The decoration evokes the sultriness of an opium den, its hypnotic effect wafting onto kimonos with sheer pants, flight suits and Tshirt dresses: the Pucci girl’s go-to, after-dark uniform.