Milan Fashion Week   A HOUSE with such a strong history as Emilio Pucci (is the first thing that springs to mind swirls of paisley and pattern? Yes, exactly), could be hard to bring up to date each season and move those swirls on. But it’s something that Peter Dundas, the house’s artistic director since 2008, has well in hand.
“I think it’s a question of being respectfully disrespectful,” said the designer after the show. “You have to break a little bit from the mould and from previous times but do it in a way that somehow balances it. I love the house and that’s why I want to take it forward.”

The way he’s doing it next season is with the little help of what he describes as “gypsy de luxe, boys and girls” – his inspiration for spring/summer 2012 the sultry and passionate persona of haute gypsies as well as pictures he found of smouldering spirit of them all: Brigitte Bardot.
“I found a picture of her wearing these gypsy clothes and that became the starting point. It’s ultra-feminine and then also very masculine with the tailoring, there’s lots of lingerie and lots of technique,” he explained of her influence on the collection. So out came billowing skirts of mismatched and psychedelic paisley prints ranging from turquoise and lime to pink and scarlet.
 

It was all about a hip-worn skirt, a midriff and a little crop top. They came lace-trimmed in black and nude so that the swirls seemed to hold court all by themselves upon the body and they came with high Edwardian necklines and sleeves that tied into flippy-floppy bows to match those that held hair oh-so loosely in ponytail place.

Embellished, lace and with occasional feathers of shimmering gold strands, the Pucci fortune teller is telling us that it’s time to embrace our wild side next summer. “I always design for the same vibe of woman - she’s bohemian and she likes to hang out on the beach,” summed up Dundas.