Italian designer Emilio Pucci’s work returns to Athens with Georgia Museum of Art exhibit

Emilio Pucci in America shows off the Italian aristocrat’s signature kaleidoscopic patterns
1992
A Pucci design on a Braniff Airways hostess, Early 1970s.
A Pucci design on a Braniff Airways hostess, Early 1970s.

Braniff Airways Collection, History of Aviation Collection, Special Collections Department, McDermott Library, The University of Texas at Dallas

Little-known fact: Italian aristocrat and fashion designer Emilio Pucci, famous for his kaleidoscopic patterns, studied agriculture at the University of Georgia in 1935. This month, a costume exhibition at the Georgia Museum of Art, Emilio Pucci in America, brings his work back to Athens. According to curator Mary Koon, Pucci long maintained his Georgia ties, even instating his American headquarters in Atlanta during the eighties. In June 1985 he premiered his resort collection at the Atlanta Apparel Mart, telling Nina Flournoy of Women’s Wear Daily: “Atlanta is one of the up-and-coming cities of the world . . . there is a wonderful sense of style here. The people here are gracious, and the women are beautiful.” October 18–February 1, Georgia Museum of Art, 90 Carlton Street, Athens

This article originally appeared in our October 2014 issue under the headline “Prints Charming.”

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