Upon entering Palazzo Pucci, the headquarters of Italy's first ready-to-wear label by Emilio Pucci, one cannot but feel the impact of the Renaissance setting and consequently, feel intrigued by the contrast with the luxury fashion house's iconic modern designs recognized through a kaleidoscope of colors and prints.

Located in the center of Florence, the historical building was built by Cardinal Lorenzo Pucci at the beginning of the 14th century and has ever since been the residence of the Pucci family.

Emilio Pucci set up ateliers and stock rooms in the rooms on the ground floor of the palace, shortly after he created the brand in 1947. The baroque ballroom on the first floor was where he showed his collections and welcomed press and clients around the world - it is still used this way today.

The Emilio Pucci Foundation was added to the beautiful palazzo in 2004, which gathers archives of the "Prince of Prints," including sketches, photographs, vintage dresses and accessories.

At the height of Pucci's popularity in the 1960s, the brand's trademark abstract prints were all the rage. The sporty stretch ensembles were popular with the international jetset, and worn by Jackie Kennedy and Grace Kelly.

Apollo 15 astronauts carried the Italian designer's colorful patterns into space, and, legend has it, Marilyn Monroe was buried wearing Pucci.

The Florentine fashion house's latest fall/winter 2009 collection, designed by new artistic director Peter Dundas, debuted last Saturday during the Milan Fashion Week.

Like his predecessors Christian Lacroix and Matthew Williamson, Dundas has gone through the 62-year-old brand's abundant archives for inspiration. This time, he has picked up "Palio," a print created by Emilio Pucci in 1957 after Siena's centuries-old horse race.

"This is the first time that the 'Palio' has inspired a collection," says Laudomia Pucci, daughter of Emilio Pucci, image director of the brand. "My father's work in the 1950s was triggered by Italian landscapes, art and pageantry, revealing very powerful collections. The one of 1957 was exactly that."

"Spending time in the Palazzo Pucci," Dundas adds, "one realizes that there is a very seductive lifestyle aspect to the brand that has yet to be explored. This is perhaps what I look forward to developing most."

Evolved from old prints, the new collection brings a sexy young look to the historical noble brand, catering to the needs of today's young international jetsetters who want to look like rock stars.

Canvas military coats and jackets lined in fox fur are worn with mini-dresses and slouchy, over-the-knee suede pirate boots, or slinky second-skin leather pants paying homage to the Capri pants, historically a staple of Pucci collections.

Going to night, a strapless minidress is patchworked with Pucci-patterned faded denim and guipure lace, while dramatic, medieval long gowns are made from strands of airy chiffon and silk, sparkling under the spotlight.

The young Pucci girl on the runway looks rebellious yet effortlessly chic, with the lavishly lined fox fur coat thrown casually over her shoulders as if it were her mother's cardigan.

According to Laudomia Pucci, the "mother-and-daughter" clientele is exactly what Pucci has been developing over the years, after the brand was acquired by luxury good group LVMH in 2000.

"Pucci has been unleashed upon the international market, reaching out to a new generation of fashionistas," she says.

Stores have sprouted up in nearly every major city in the world, from three back in 2000 to 50 today. New product ranges, from shoes to bags, from cosmetics to eyewear, have been developed to revive the long-time "sleeping beauty."

Its first store on the Chinese mainland opened last year in Shanghai's Citic Square on Nanjing Road W. and Pucci has an ambitious development plan for this "extremely exciting market," says Didier Drouet, general manager of Emilio Pucci.

"The most populous country in the world, China is the future," he says. "It's not just about business; it's also the pleasure to deliver a historical brand to Chinese people, tell them the stories behind the label and make them understand the spirit of Pucci, the 'joie de vivre'."

The company plans to launch 10 stores in China over five years. The next store will be opened in Beijing.

Most recently, Pucci has also launched a virtual boutique at www.emiliopucci.com, selling a complete selection of ready-to-wear and accessories arriving in-store at the same time as they arrive in Emilio Pucci brick and mortar stores.

"The virtual boutique is a key store for our brand," Drouet says. "It completes our selective and qualitative network, allowing us to communicate to new customers on a global scale."

(Shanghai Daily March 5, 2009)