PORTOFINO, Italy — Stocks globally may be tanking and the fashion industry may be coming to terms with the new wave of Trump tariffs, but leave it to Pucci and artistic director Camille Miceli to bring a whiff of much-needed respite with her joyful and colorful designs.
Miceli chose the stunning La Cervara, a former abbey on the coastal road to Portofino, for her spring 2025 show. First erected in the 12th century, the abbey complex is a designated National Monument of Italy, with a breathtaking view of the Tigullio Gulf, an Italian Renaissance-style garden that directly faces the sea and a wisteria pergola. Miceli timed the show for around 230 guests shortly before sunset, leading to numerous Instagrammable moments.
It was the ideal setting for her fashion show, centered on the Marmo, a marble-like print she revived since her first collection in 2022, and inspired by the reflection of the sun onto the sea.
This season, the print was revisited in soft sorbet and powder pink hues, winding around black waves on flowing silk pants and shirts. It was also reproduced through printed sequins or metal eyelets and through black and white sea shells, hand-stitched by the Pucci artisans — still at work backstage, sewing one shell at a time on a blouson top or a fringed skirt. In fact, for this collection Miceli raised the bar on craftsmanship, for a sophisticated lineup that featured more black than in past lineups. Pucci’s signature prints were recurring, but at times merely details on the hem of a sleeve of a little black dress or appearing through the fringes of a dress or a cape.
The Stella print, an homage to the moon and the stars, and the Maddalena, or “gocciolone,” reminiscent of an expanded drop, defined by sleek and graphic curves, appeared on a caftan or a minidress.
Iride and Orchidee were also signature prints that Miceli revisited. “I change the colors but never the names,” said the designer, who always pays tribute to founder Emilio Pucci.
Miceli said she wanted her designs to look airy, with fluid shapes, and she worked with “disproportions,” narrower skirts under larger “balloon” blouses in poplin cotton. “I like the idea of the trompe-l’oeil; they look like two pieces, but it’s actually one dress,” she said.
She also created silver bijoux that looked like tattoos on the skin, reproducing the marble print. “I remember how Karl [Lagerfeld] said that when you wear Pucci, it’s as if you have a tattoo,” remarked Miceli. The laces of the sandals also wove around the models’ legs, looking like tattoos.
Miceli staged her first runway show for Pucci in Florence in 2023, following up with Rome last year. Before that, she opted for multiday lifestyle “experiences” in such jet-set destinations as Capri and Saint Moritz — resort towns that, like Portofino, have attracted European aristocracy and the international jet-set since the 1950s.
Asked about this location, Miceli said she had wanted to stage a show in a home “for some time” — although the estate, now privately owned, is not your average abode. “I know this was an abbey, but for me, I see it as the house of the Pucci woman. The gardens, the view, what more do you want? And I love the small stones of the black and white floor.” Indeed, while reminiscent of the marble print, she said she does not design her collections with a location in mind.
Reflecting on the changing habits of consumers, Miceli said “we are very lucky because things are going very well — knock on wood — and I think women come to Pucci because when they wear the brand they want to feel special, they don’t want to be part of a uniform crowd, and this is increasingly so compared with the past. And also because Pucci is synonymous with joy and femininity.”
America continues to be a very strong market for Pucci, which will open a store in Houston this month. The Portofino boutique was just redesigned with the help of architect Pierre Passebon.
Keeping prices in check and in line with the brand is also key for Miceli, targeting different women — which was reflected both in the casting that also included the likes of Kristen McMenamy, Karen Elson and Naomi Campbell, who closed the show — and in the pool of young influencers dancing in their seats to the the soundtrack by Nada.
“I like how Pucci has a very clear identity,” said Pierre-Emmanuel Angeloglou, who was named deputy chief executive officer of Christian Dior Couture last month. (Pucci is controlled by LVMH Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy). “The challenge is to always bring novelty to the brand respecting its identity, maintaining its lightness, accessibility, joy, and sophisticated femininity that I find beautiful. And Camille transmits a laid back attitude and an energy that is contagious.”
The executive, speaking ahead of the show, also talked about the see now, buy now format for Pucci, “fitting for the brand, which has its own visibility outside the fashion weeks’ schedule. And how perfect to be able to show when the days get sunnier, in a beautiful location and you can choose to wear these [summery] clothes right away.”
Marisa Berenson also enthused about the show, “beautiful and brilliant. Camille is so talented and creative, she modernized the brand but kept the Pucci DNA.” She was also happy about returning to Portofino. “It brings back so many wonderful memories for me; I’ve been here many times in the past when I was young,” she mused. Wearing a stunning necklace in mother -of-pearl and crystals, she said it was part of her own namesake jewelry line. “I live in Marrakech now so I make them there. I regenerate there, where I have a little corner of paradise but then I love being out in the world,” she said.
Berenson next week will be in Milan as Michela Bruni Reichlin will be selling her jewelry in her showroom on Via Montenapoleone. She is also in the middle of filming between Paris and the south of France a movie she described as a “psychological investigation.”
