Vintage Pucci Sunglasses and the first job in eyewear I ever wanted.
Vintage Emilio Pucci sunglasses, circa 1966.
One of the first things I wanted to do when I decided to design sunglasses was get the Emilio Pucci license. I always thought Pucci sunglasses from the 1960s were cool. They represented the moment when Jackie O fashion got dosed with acid and erupted into colors; a peak of optimism nobody back then imagined would soon crumble into a bummer.
Pucci Sunglasses were first made in France. Unhemmed Vivara print scarves were laminated between two sheets of acetate, one clear one black, and the resulting sheet was then cut into sunglass frames. No two vintage frames were alike.
Emilio Pucci himself fascinated me. He was a nobleman: the Marchese di Barsento, an olympic skier, confidante of Mussolini’s daughter Edda Ciano ultimately helping her escape the Nazis to Switzerland with her father’s secret diaries. Pucci was interesting.
I sometimes imagined what it must have been like to be him, motoring through the streets of Florence on a Vespa from palace to palace, heading to a fitting: my glowing creations on the best models in the world. The vision spooled cinematically through the 70mm projector of my mind. It was sort of like a Fellini film only better.
Emilio Pucci and a model wearing his Palazzo Pyjamas from his Fall/Winter 1966 collection.
Models on roof of the Palazzo Pucci wearing the Spring/Summer 1967 collection.
I thought I could create pieces worthy of this vision so I decided to give the company a call. His daughter Laudomilla was in charge at that point. I spoke to her right hand man. I was invited to visit them at the Palazzo Pucci but never got any farther as they were presently taken over by LVMH.
I was very disappointed. I still found clearly delineated blocks of color on an eyewear frame compelling, though. I moved forward with the concept myself. I thought adding textures would add a lot of depth. The result was a series of frames sheathed in mosaics of exotic leathers consisting of alligator, ostrich, fish, frog and more. There were about 60 distinct colors and an almost infinite number of possibilities. They received a great reception.
I’ll share those sunglasses with you sometime.
Ultimately it worked out for the best. The leather mosaic sunglasses helped establish me with stylists and editors which helped facilitate a lot of good things that would happen.
Life’s a journey. You never know where it might lead.
Vintage Emilio Pucci suit and scarf used as turban, shot by Gian Paolo Barbieri, circa 1967. I have no idea who did the elf shoes.
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Images variously sourced from The Prince of Prints: Emilio Pucci, published by Taschen and pleasurephoto.wordpress.com.
Hi!
First of all, I love your blog. Second of all, I recently purchased a pair of Vintage Pucci sunglasses from eBay ( the same exact style sunglasses that are shown in the first photo ) & immediately wanted someone to authenticate them. I live in Fort Lauderdale so I drove down to The Pucci store in Miami. When I walked in, I handed the man the glasses and he went to the back of the store to show the manager. When he came back, he told me the glasses were fake because they were “Made in France” and they were signed as “Emilio Pucci” instead of just “Pucci.” I know you have stated that “Pucci sunglasses were first made in France, ” but do you happen to have any information on how he signed these glasses? Anything will help–I am just wondering because I paid a good sum of money for these glasses and don’t want to keep them if they are fake.
Thanks,
Gabriela
Sorry it took a little while to get back to you. Pucci sunglasses were made in France and stamped Emilio Pucci on the left temple. As long as they’re fabric laminate they’re almost certainly authentic. There was/is a rash of fakes in which someone had an old Pucci die stamp and stamped “EP” on the bridge, which has nothing to do with yours. The salesman is probably unfamiliar with older product.