“There’s a lot of joy inside this brand, and I’m someone who quite enjoys life.”
So says Camille Miceli, fresh from a summer vacation in Greece, referring to her new role as the artistic director at Emilio Pucci as it pivots into a resort-focused brand.
Pucci said Miceli, most recently accessories creative director at Louis Vuitton, is to start this week.
This confirms a WWD on Aug. 6 that Miceli, a seasoned creative fond of the seaside and the mountains, was headed to the Florentine house, famous for its jet-set image and swirling prints on silk jersey.
In an exclusive interview, Miceli said she vividly remembers her grandmother wearing Pucci — “the prints are so strong; it’s something you don’t forget” — and purchasing some vintage Pucci dresses and a silk top when she was a teenager.
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These anecdotes underscore her conviction that Pucci is a “multigenerational” brand that she hopes can interest her mother as much as her 21-year-old son and his friends.
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“It’s more about lifestyle, a way of living that inspires me the most,” she said, also noting that she sees Pucci as a year-round brand, more about leisure and a certain mindset than about heading on vacation.
While she was born in Paris and raised in France, Miceli is half Italian, speaks the language fluently, and is relocating to Milan for the Pucci project.
While she said it’s too soon to elaborate on her approach to the brand and her product and communication ideas, she said she already conceives of Pucci as a “community” — and a brand with a strong Italian accent.
She certainly brings a wealth of experience, having worked closely with some of the most acclaimed fashion designers in the world, including Karl Lagerfeld, Azzedine Alaïa, Marc Jacobs and Nicholas Ghesquière.
“I’ve been very lucky to be surrounded by these great talents, and to learn from them,” she said.
Miceli credited Jacobs for inviting her to try her hand at design. She joined Louis Vuitton’s public relations department in 1997 just as Jacobs arrived as its first artistic director and expanded into ready-to-wear. Encouraged by the American designer, Miceli segued into creative pursuits and began designing costume jewelry collections at Vuitton, starting off with a pair of gold hoops with dangling monogram emblems that ended up in Jacobs’ debut show.
She ultimately was promoted under Jacobs to fashion jewelry creative director and fine jewelry consultant, famously collaborating with Pharrell Williams on a high jewelry collection in 2008 that was based on coats of arms.
In 2009, she moved over to Christian Dior and built out its fashion jewelry business with hit styles like the Tribal earring, and also served as a creative consultant on leather goods.
She returned to Vuitton in 2014 and oversaw accessories including fashion jewelry, sunglasses, belts, sunglasses and scarves. Miceli said she also worked on handbags for the fashion shows under Ghesquière and artistic collaborations for the Capucines bag, and one-off projects like her 2020 capsule with Urs Fischer, comprising scarves and leather goods.
Miceli started her fashion career at age 15 when she interned at Chanel and Alaïa. She spent seven years as a publicist at Chanel before joining Vuitton.
“She’s really good at product development, and she has a vision,” said Sidney Toledano, chairman and chief executive officer of LVMH Fashion Group and a member of the LVMH executive committee, who had worked with Miceli when he was CEO at Dior. “She loves the Pucci brand, the story of the brand and its universe.”
Toledano is in Italy today to introduce Miceli to the teams.
“She’s suited to the project. She loves color, and she is a joyful person,” he enthused. “Camille will respect the codes of the brand and the history, but she will come with something new. Fashion is about newness and this is the mission.”
In an internal announcement seen by WWD, Toledano added: “I am certain that her energy and talent, as well as the wealth of experience she has gained from the greatest maisons of the group will be key to the success of the brand’s new global project.”
A “transitional collection” done by the teams is to be presented on Sept. 26 during Milan Fashion Week, and Miceli’s first effort will be unveiled at a later date.
As reported, Pucci recently revealed plans to return to its roots as a resort-focused brand after years of behaving like a designer house with runway shows in Milan and boutiques on Avenue Montaigne in Paris and Madison Avenue in New York.
Considered one of Italy’s fashion pioneers in outfitting the jet set, Emilio Pucci began designing skiwear out of jersey fabrics in 1947 and opened his house in 1949. His colorful, graphic motifs quickly became a signature of the house.
Controlled by LVMH since 2000, Pucci has experimented with a variety of permanent designers over the years, including Julio Espada, Christian Lacroix, Matthew Williamson, Peter Dundas and MSGM’s Massimo Giorgetti, and also studio configurations. The brand had recently experimented with guest designers, including Christelle Kocher of France and Japan’s Tomo Koizumi. Last June, it dropped a surprise collaboration with buzzy skate brand Supreme.
Toledano noted that summer business at such resort locations as Miami, Palm Beach, Saint-Tropez and Portofino “has been really good.”
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