In 1949 Italian designer Emilio Pucci launched in Capri his first beachwear collection. Based on black-and-white prints created by Guido Ravasi of Como, the collection was practical, comfortable and rather chic, and it marked a new success for the young marquis who decided the following year to open a boutique on the island.

Capri and Pucci’s first exuberant and successful designs for his beachwear creations, all characterised by a strong Mediterranean spirit, were the starting point behind Matthew Williamson’s final collection for the historical Italian brand. Pucci’s trademark polychrome prints in orange, blue, yellow and pink were revisited in a modern key in tight jersey dresses, blouses, mini-skirts and bathing suits. The outfits that worked best were the ones that didn’t bear such strong connections with the Italian designer, in particular long white dresses in which prints were used as small décors, block-coloured dresses with geometrical cut-outs, long gowns with jungle prints and transparent inserts and cropped violet and aquamarine palm printed jackets.

At times Williamson relapsed into Pucci updating the designer’s iconic 1958 sequinned dresses with dark green, violet and black geometrical motifs, using transparencies in a seductive way, or entirely covering a long-sleeved mini-dress in silvery mirrors that sent out brilliant reflections evoking the multi-coloured universe of the maison.

Puccimania can’t be ignored, but the Italian marquis was also famous for his experiments with fabrics: in the ‘50s he produced synthetic velvets, discovered a new jersey for light-weight, crease-proof clothing and patented the emilioform, an elastic fabric composed of Helanca synthetic and shantung silk. Now that Williamson’s contract with the Italian fashion house has expired, Peter Dundas should focus also on this aspect. The time has come to stop developing new combinations of Pucci’s optimistic colours and glamorous visions of life and look at other aspects of the legacy left by the “Prince of Prints”.