VENI, VIDI, Pucci!

Camille Miceli has taken over the reins of pucci, and breathed new life into the Italian house, which was founded in 1947. We find out why she was chosen to resurrect the fabled brand known for its vibrant prints

- SOPHIE GACHET

Camille Miceli doesn’t do things like everyone else. It’s obvious as soon as you walk into her studio in Milan: Although she works for a label where prints play the starring role, she wears a pattern that has nothing to do with the house style – a broadly smiling Mickey Mouse on a vintage black and white sweatshirt, paired with a very chic straight, black skirt. Miceli and her young team are in the middle of a fitting session but the atmosphere is relaxed. For Miceli, creation is a pleasure, an attitude that she seems to pass on to her staff. With an Italian father, she has a perfect command of the local language, making it easy for her to communicate her ideas, and always with humour. A model emerges from the changing room wearing a ski jacket. Camille is unconvinced. “Is this necessary?” she laughs and tugs on a big pocket. “The pocket must be made smaller and this jacket needs a drawstring.” Being forthright and not wasting time are also traits she is known for.

Miceli arrived at Pucci in September 2021. The house hadn’t had an artistic director since Massimo Giorgetti left in 2017. Before him, there had been a string of designers: Christian Lacroix, Matthew Williamson and Peter Dundas, who all worked under the watchful eye of Laudomia Pucci, daughter of Emilio, the brand’s founder. Since June 2021, LVMH has owned 100 percent of the company’s shares and it is currently overseen by Sydney Toledano, CEO of the LVMH Fashion Group. It was he and Delphine Arnault who thought of Miceli for Pucci.