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(French)  CAPRI (English) WEDDING

Capri, c'est Pucci

Capri : de notre envoyée spéciale Fabienne Reybaud (Figaro Paris)

Quinze ans après sa fermeture, la boutique Pucci rouvre ses portes. Et l'île mythique revit.

Mais qu'est devenue Capri, capitale mythique de la jet-set des années 50?

Rilke la détestait. Henry James la trouva «banale» pour ne pas dire un peu vulgaire, et Gide la qualifia d'«insupportable». Curzio Malaparte n'y consacra aucun livre, mais laissa une villa dans laquelle Jean-Luc Godard tourna Le Mépris en 1963. Quand on arrive à Capri, à l'embarcadère de Marina Grande, c'est moins la beauté du site qui frappe que les hordes de touristes qui débarquent, bob vissé sur le crâne, bouteilles d'eau dépassant du sac à dos. Ici, on les appelle les «one day tourists». Les bons jours, l'île de Tibère en accueille quotidiennement 15 000... Soit la bagatelle d'environ 1,3 million de visiteurs chaque été sur une langue de calcaire qui ne fait pas plus de 11 km de long. De quoi mettre en rogne les chauffeurs de taxi napolitains, aussi aimables que leurs homologues parisiens, qui vous larguent comme un ballot de linge sale à l'orée de la Piazzetta, où l'on est directement emporté par une foule anglo-saxonne ébaubie d'être ici. Mais où est la capitale mythi que de la jet-set des années 50?

Capri se cache peut-être à la terrasse du grand hôtel Quisiana où les fils spirituels de Porfirio Rubirosa, en chemise de lin blanc, jeans savamment usés et Tod's surpiqués, regardent passer de jeunes Américaines en jupon Chloé et de riches Romaines en jersey Pucci. Ou encore dans l'apostrophe d'un vieux Capriote en maillot de bain rouge qui rappelle aux insouciantes, montées sur 10 cm de talons, qu'elles risquent de se rompre le cou sur le chemin en à-pic qui mène aux Fariglioni... Vertige d'un endroit où rien n'est jamais linéaire, où tout est en dents de scie. L'empereur Tibère jetait, disait-on, les enfants réticents du haut de la falaise de sa citadelle.

Dans l'entre-deux-guerres, Capri fut le point de chute de ceux qu'Alberto Moravia nomma les «différents», homosexuels, exilés politiques, poètes, anarchistes... Avant de devenir dans les années 50 le nouvel eldorado d'une jet-set cosmopolite, désireuse de trouver là un style de vie inédit. «La vraie force de Capri était intellectuelle, observe la galeriste milanaise Carla Sozzani. La mode, le glamour sont venus après, dans les années 50-60, lorsque Emilio Pucci y inventa le style caprese. Toutes les stars, d'Elizabeth Taylor à Jackie O en passant par Marilyn Monroe, se mirent à porter des pantalons Capri, des sandales Capri, des foulards Capri signés Emilio.»

Pucci à Capri... L'histoire commence en 1948, lorsque le marquis florentin débarque dans l'île. «Il s'est rendu compte qu'il n'y avait pas de véritable mode adaptée à ce lieu, raconte sa fille Laudomia Pucci, responsable de l'image de la marque. Les femmes s'habillaient soit en véritable haute couture parisienne, soit elles faisaient copier les modèles. Mon père avait commencé dans le sportswear avec des lignes de ski. Il avait vécu aux Etats-Unis, il a voulu donner aux femmes des vêtements élégants mais faciles à porter.»

En 1951, celui qui sera le premier homme de sa famille à travailler depuis mille ans y ouvre sa boutique à la Canzone del Mare, à Marina Piccola. Ses pantalons ouverts sur les côtés, ses chemises d'homme conçues pour les femmes, ses foulards colorés dessinent les contours de la modernité : des vêtements conçus pour accompagner la femme qui voyage, la libérer du poids de garde-robes coûteuses et encombrantes. Pucci invente ce qui est devenu aujourd'hui un cliché : le chic décontracté. Capri lui inspire un style mais aussi une palette de couleurs : le bleu de la grotte azur, les violets et fuchsia des bougainvillées, les verts et jaunes acides des citronniers. Les Américaines et la jet-set italienne s'entichent de ses jerseys fluides aux imprimés exubérants qui flattent les formes sans entraver le corps. «Emilio Pucci était un visionnaire qui appartenait à une élite cosmopolite, affirme Catherine Vautrin, PDG de la marque dont LVMH est l'actionnaire majoritaire depuis 2000. Il a senti comment la mode allait évoluer en créant des vêtements gais, ludiques, colorés et sophistiqués.» 

Pucci règne en maître sur les années 60 et 70. Mais l'extravagance du marquis ne résiste pas aux années 80. La marque végète une bonne décennie jusqu'à l'entrée en lice de LVMH, qui nomme Christian Lacroix comme styliste. L'Arlésien réveille la belle endormie et catapulte Pucci dans le XXI^e siècle. «En quatre ans, nous avons quadruplé notre chiffre d'affaires qui a atteint 45 millions d'euros en 2004, poursuit Catherine Vautrin. Aujourd'hui, cette marque symbolise toujours un style de vie, une sorte de nostalgie positive pour une époque enthousiaste et extravagante.»

Encore fallait-il ramener Pucci à Capri, la boutique d'Emilio ayant été fermée il y a une quinzaine d'années. Le 18 juin, Laudomia Pucci recevait 200 invités, via Camarelle, pour inaugurer la nouvelle enseigne au nom de son père. «Ils ont puccifié l'île !», lance un touriste français égaré au milieu d'une foule colorée où de grands patrons du luxe se mêlent à des aristocrates italiens, où des jet-setteuses américaines fraient avec des extravagants milanais. «Ce soir, confie le prince Gelasio Gaetani Lovatelli, la vie à Capri est comme dans les années 50 et 60. Vous rentrez dans un rêve et vous ne voulez pas en sortir. Vous ne pouvez pas penser le monde sans Capri.» Pucci l'avait compris.

ENGLISH

Capri is an Italian island off the Sorrentine Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples, that has been a celebrated "beauty spot" and resort since the time of the Roman Republic. Its features are a litany of postcard views: the Marina Piccola (Small Harbor), the Belvedere of Tragara, which is a high panoramic promenade lined with villas, the limestone masses that stand out of the sea (the 'Faraglioni'), Anacapri, the Blue Grotto ('Grotta Azzurra'). Above all are the ruins of the Imperial Roman villas.

Capri is in the region of Campania, Province of Naples. The City of Capri is the main centre of population on Capri . It has two adjoining harbors, Marina Piccola and Marina Grande, which is the main port of the island. The town of Anacapri is located high on the hills west from the City of Capri.

Capri with its picturesque landscape, surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea , caters to those who want only the best that money can buy. The perfect place to indulge, and create life long memories.

There is more History and Myth in one little wave of the Mediterranean Sea , than in the waters of all the oceans. Well, in this sea, so full of memories, Capri is the quintessence or, if you prefer, "the pearl.

Capri is the place where beauty and nature meet, where myth and History still talk to us. It seems impossible that on this Island, no bigger than a rock, so many lives have crossed and so many destinies have been fulfilled. The Roman Emperors Augustus and Tiberius, lords of the world, had their favorite retreat here and erected splendid villas with swimming pools, cisterns and gardens, whose remains we still can admire today.

The romantic poets, writers, artists, gazed upon the unapproachable shores with its steep cliffs, at the gorges and caves, at the water with its greenish and turquoise translucence, with a mixture of fear and enthusiasm.

They recognized the land, sung by Homer in his poem Odyssey, where Ulysses saw the Mermaids and heard their song.

Other islands in the Campania area around Naples, include Ischia and Ponza.  Ischia is a pine studded, volcanic island surrounded by sparkling waters. The island is renowned for it's beautiful beaches, therapeutic hot springs and red and white wine producing vineyards.  Luxury yachts and super-yachts tend to frequent Ischia as a part of the overflow from the hectic pace on Capri.

Capri it’s Pucci - Color Me Pucci: Is it any wonder his signature fashions speak Italian for the world?
When Emilio Pucci set pattern to print, he called on memories of waves crashing along the shore at Capri and brightly colored flags flying at the Palio. Is it any wonder, asks Josh Patner, his signature fashions now speak Italian for the world?

Who can think of Italy without picturing a glamorous woman sipping a Campari and soda in a café at dusk, the bright sunlight teasing glitter from the deep, dark waters around Capri, or young lovers straddling a speeding motorino? And who can think of Italian style without thinking of Emilio Pucci? Wouldn't that pretty lady be less pretty—and less Italian—without her Pucci print? It is impossible—even dreary—to imagine Italy without the great Florentine designer's kaleidoscopically printed silk jersey tunics that have defined The Good Life since the 1950s. You can no sooner separate Pucci from Italian chic than you could the Campari from the soda.

American women, of course, have long loved Pucci. Though not the first to discover the near instant élan of a Pucci wardrobe—Marchese Emilio Pucci di Barsento opened his first boutique in Capri in 1950 after selling to Lord & Taylor on the recommendation of Diana Vreeland—once they owned a piece, obsession set in. Jacqueline Susann penned Valley of the Dolls dressed in his head-to-toe prints, and Helen Gurley Brown led the Cosmopolitan revolution in Pucci. Jackie wore it. So did Marilyn. The love affair continues today with recent openings of a Fifth Avenue shop at the St. Regis hotel and a high-rolling address at Forum Shops at Caesars in Las Vegas. Designed by Italian architects Tiziano Vudafieri and Lena Pessoa, these boutiques—like the new jewel box of a shop near Piazza San Marco in Venice — share the sleek futuristic lines of Pucci's prints. Summer-bright white walls roll like waves, and the clothes, hanging from transparent poles, appear to be suspended in air.

When the French luxury group LVMH acquired the house in 2000, naming couturier Christian Lacroix designer soon thereafter, Pucci crossed the time line from classic to completely current. Lacroix—who makes lavish color and prints essential in his own collections—has taken Pucci's carefree spirit on a joy ride through today's must-have wardrobe. Chiffon and satin dresses are awash in eye-popping patterns. Dashing capes and coats recall the glory of the Renaissance while maintaining a contemporary swagger. Sleek suits layered with fur stoles are perfect for glamorous city living, and patterned leggings evoke Pucci's mod heyday. But this collection is no retrospective. While Lacroix has surely channeled Pucci's spirit, he cuts clothes with curves that would have made the marchese blush.

Pucci Mania may have put a high polish on the psychedelic sixties, but what Emilio Pucci created was actually quite simple. His signature printed tops and dresses were often no more complex than a T-shirt, and this at a time when Christian Dior's lavish gowns and precise suits were fashion's crowning glory. But an early and extremely popular Pucci look broke away from all that salon-style pomp. The ensemble—nothing more than a crisp silk button-down shirt that came in a rainbow of colors matching a pair of taut three-quarter-length Capri pants, which the marchese named for his beloved summer getaway—gave both style and freedom to women who were ready to take on a changing world. While Pucci's simple tunics and Capri pants are happily still available, perhaps nothing speaks better for the longevity of his vision than Lacroix's updated collection. Today's Pucci may have more sensual draping than the original basic silhouette. But the prints—bold, sinuous, and nearly alive—could have been drawn today.

According to Enrico Quinto, an Italian collector of fine vintage clothing, Pucci's role in Italian fashion is "primordiale, fondamentale." Quinto says, "He gave a sense of Italian style—great beauty treated with nonchalance—that has become the legend Italy continues to promote globally." It's true: Here were Botticelli's exquisite shades of blue and purple, Capri's pink, flowering vines, and the yellow of a girasole sent flaming across a simple silk blouse with both the exotic mystery of a peacock's feather and the urbane flair that is the birthright of noble heritage.

Pucci was drawn to fashion by chance. His noble family traces its roots to the Crusades, and were it not for his own unending appetite for adventure, he too might have lived the typically reserved life of his peers. But instead Pucci went to America , hitchhiked across the country, and graduated from Reed College in 1937. The marchese was a decorated air force pilot and had an affair with Mussolini's daughter. That landed him in jail and eventually led to a brief exile in Switzerland until the war's end.

It was while skiing that Pucci's equal love of old-world elegance and new-world efficiency gave him the idea to customize his own skiwear with newly elasticized fabrics. The streamlined, vividly colored snowsuits made him a standout on the Swiss slopes. When Harper's Bazaar published a photo of the marchese and a ski date wearing his designs in 1947, he converted part of his family palazzo into a small factory and opened the doors for business. Some say Lacroix's skiwear collection has the same sense of innovation.

"Pucci means good times, "says Laudomia Pucci, the designer's daughter and the company's image director. "It represents a dream." And yet for all the jet-set talk that gives Pucci its enduring allure, it is in fact its utter simplicity that won women's adoration. The Italian kitchen gave us the miracle of spaghetti con pomodoro e basilico—basic ingredients used to perfection. Emilio Pucci, Italian to the core, did the same. He took some silk jersey, wonderful color, and a simple shape or two, and let the free-wheeling passion of Italy loose to enchant the world.

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