Out & About

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The New York Sun

Pucci on Fifth Avenue just feels right. And wearing Pucci was fitting for many guests at the store’s opening party last night. There was Pucci’s chief executive, Catherine Vautrin, in a dress from last year’s collection. “It’s easy, feminine, and sexy without being outrageous,” she said. As for how many Puccis are in her closet: “I can’t count anymore.” The daughter of Emilio Pucci – the Italian designer who started it all – wore her only Pucci dress that fits any more. “I just had a daughter two months ago,” said Laudomia Pucci, who lives in Florence. The most in-demand Pucci items this season are rubber rain boots bearing a typically colorful, psychedelic pattern. “We sold out in three days, and we have a huge reserve list,” said one of the store’s sales associates, Mariana Del Alto (who gets to wear all the Pucci she wants – inside the store).


On the eve of Fashion Week, all the young pixies (and an old one, Patrick MacDonald) were gearing up for the shows and parties. “I’m sticking to water tonight,” said designer Holly Dunlap of Hollywould, who is hosting a small showing of her new collection later this week.


“The key is pacing yourself,” said Gillian Hearst.” You’re going to get through it somehow. The hard part is getting back to work after.” For Ms. Hearst, that means starting preproduction on her new film “Happy Ending,” a musical comedy in which her character, on the advice of a psychic, breaks up with her boyfriend. (Does she visit psychics personally? “I don’t believe in it, but I think it’s fun,” she said.)


No psychics are needed in Pucci’s design shop. Instead, the company recolors and rescales prints in its archives, fashioning them into new shapes, as well as classic Pucci styles, like the turtleneck tunic.


The label’s successful regeneration serves as a reminder that even though fashion is all about new, new, new, the old can be made new again.


The New York Sun

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