THOMAS: Your designs at your own couture house have always seemed to have a dash of Pucci. Why is that?
LACROIX: Pucci has always been in my head–its spirit and its style. When I was a child growing up in southern France, everywhere you looked, women were wearing either real Pucci or fake Pucci. The world was Pucciesque. And I remained obsessed with this look. The reason I love fuchsia and lime green, it’s thanks to Pucci.
The company had very simple beginnings, no?
Nearly by accident. One day a chic Roman girl was photographed for the Italian equivalent of Vogue, and for the picture, Pucci lent her his ski parka, which he had made himself. [Harper’s Bazaar editor] Diana Vreeland saw it and said, “Where did this fabulous anorak come from? Get it!” He flew to New York to see her, and it grew from there. In 1954 or'55 he hired artists to paint big bright motifs on silk for a collection–that started the Pucci look. Today there are 500 color references printed on fabric, numbered, in the archives. It’s sumptuous.
Pucci went out of fashion, then came back in force. What happened?
In the early 1990s, when the Persian Gulf War happened, people began to dress entirely in black. And this was followed by minimalism, which we wore like an armor, for safety and protection. But today we’ve returned to motifs, color, to battle against our current morose mood,the economic crisis and the war.
But Pucci is more than prints and colors. It’s a fashion statement in itself, and it’s very in vogue now.
I don’t think people say, “Why not do Pucci?” But when someone prints a swirling psychedelic style on fabric, it obviously comes from Pucci. Missoni, Versace, Gucci–even here at Lacroix–we have all done Pucci in recent collections. I think the brand has perpetuated itself–maintained its strength–in part because of the vintage movement. Women today pay a fortune for vintage Pucci. The prices have exploded.
What is Pucci for you?
The marquis was a visionary. He envisioned the life that we have today and, for it, invented a mix of sportswear and elegance. During the day it’s sexy and sporty, and in the evening it’s sophisticated. Most importantly, it’s never vulgar and never uptight.
How did you get involved?
When LVMH bought Pucci I thought, “Ah, if only they would ask me my opinion on what to do!” Then one day, [LVMH head] Bernard Arnault called me phone and said, “I have a great idea…” Of course I said yes. There are times in your life when you know you just can’t refuse.
What is your goal at Pucci?
I simply want to rediscover the dynamic of this fabulous epoque when Pucci was at its peak, in the 1960s. I know a lot of people are very scared. They say, “Oh, la, la, Lacroix at Pucci. It will be horrible, indigestible.” I disagree. I want to keep the soul and the essence, the link with the archives. But you can’t just redo what’s been done. I’m not a medium: I can’t know what the marquis would do if he were here. I can simply use my fashion knowledge and experience to the service of what he left and do my best.
