Do you remember Surya Bonaly, the kick-ass French figure skater who did a backflip at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Japan?
Camille Miceli certainly does, and so she added some skater-style jersey dresses, some picked out in sparkles, for her zesty fall collection for Pucci.
“She was a very free woman, and gutsy,” Miceli enthused about Bonaly, known for her colorful costumes, daredevil athleticism and for paving the way for more black skaters. (Back in her Chanel days, Gilles Dufour introduced Miceli to the sport and she was hooked.)
Miceli shares some of Bonaly’s guts, daring to take Pucci into a variety of new territories while remaining anchored to the Italian brand’s exuberant prints, and its jet-set style that reached a zenith in the ’70s, an era the French Italian designer adores.
Flared pants, maxiskirts, sheer blouses and groovy catsuits in vivid prints cut a flamboyant figure, inspired also by the lavish outfits of Prince, another boundary-bending cultural figure Miceli name-checked.
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The collection is luxurious, feminine, slyly bohemian and many pieces offer instant heirloom appeal. Outliers include dark, cocoon-shaped coats in Neoprene-backed wool and monastic capes, but Miceli said she’s often surprised what becomes a bestseller. A case in point: a knitted, color-blocked cape she did for Pucci’s fall 2022 collection, and its never-in-stock pool noodles and playing cards.
She searches for ways to bring city elements into the collection, which this season includes tweed jackets, pinstriped suiting, a black cape, swirl-print jeans and an alarm clock (who uses one while vacationing?).
“For me, it’s about ways of expanding the DNA of Pucci, and making it more fun,” she said. “You don’t have to be conventional with Pucci. You need to surprise.…What I love about this house is that there are no rules.”
That said, she works with only archival prints, this season adding the Orchidee motif, sometimes in blown-up proportions.
Incidentally, the vivacious Miceli usually sets her alarm clock for 7:30 or 7:45 a.m.
