There were some apparently conflicting conversations going on backstage before the Pucci show. In one corner Sienna Miller was enthusing about the Italian label s colorful history, "I have a Pucci bikini I ve lived in, lots of scarves, a dress that belonged to my mother." And in another, her friend, the label s new designer Matthew Williamson, was saying, "I looked at the archives and discovered there was a whole lot more to Pucci than prints. He also did little black dresses. I didn t want it to be predictable."
Perhaps Williamson should sign Miller as a consultant, because, as she suggested, a girl looks to Pucci for a print—all the more if it s a revved up blast from that fabulous past. The fact that this is an idea still relevant to a 24-year-old It girl should have given Williamson the green light to work into "the predictable." Instead, he overthought the challenge of raiding the swirly-whirly archive and decided to do such things as, first, a black hooded wool coat banded with a little ethnic crewel work, and second—as he d promised—a short black jersey dress with puffed sleeves. The print—a belted jersey top with matching leggings, borrowed from Emilio Pucci s stained-glass-window Cupola design of 1972—only came third in line.
Williamson did produce more of the pattern, recolored in gray, black, and pink, but he expended far more effort showing solid-color outfits like total-knit pantsuits with beanie hats and scarves, and fox-trimmed alpaca or brocade coats. Those ideas, as well as his flippy-hemmed dresses, vaguely tinged with Biba-era references, compounded the feeling that he d landed these clothes wide of the essential mark of Pucci s luxe Italian heritage. Never mind. Next season, when he s had his chance to get his feet under the design table properly, he ll hopefully surrender to everything that s wonderful about a Pucci summer—psychedelic bikinis and all.
