Josephus Thimister Consulting on Emilio Pucci’s Next Collection
A HELPING HAND: Former Balenciaga designer Josephus Thimister is acting as a consultant on Emilio Pucci’s spring 2018 collection, which is being designed by an in-house team following Massimo Giorgetti’s exit last month. The Belgian designer is “one of the consultants” working on the lineup, a spokeswoman for the Florentine house said Thursday.
Thimister helped revive the Balenciaga brand in the 1992-1997 period before launching his namesake line in 1997.
Giorgetti’s last collection as creative director of Pucci was for resort 2018. It is understood that Pucci has already interviewed a host of candidates but has yet to settle on his successor.
The Italian brand is controlled by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, which acquired it in 2002 for 38 million euros, or $35.9 million at average exchange rates that year. Pucci has experimented with a variety of designers, including Matthew Williamson and Christian Lacroix, both predecessors to Peter Dundas, who was succeeded by Giorgetti.
Giorgetti is also the founder and designer of the Milan-based, independent MSGM brand, launched in 2009 and which he continues to lead. Giorgetti veered away from Dundas’ take on Pucci, which was focused on sexy, hyper-glamorous eveningwear, earning a model and “It” girl following including Poppy Delevingne, Gaia Repossi, Bianca Brandolini d’Adda and Natasha Poly. Giorgetti, who is known for his knack for prints and colors, steered Pucci in a younger, more playful direction.
Established in 1947, Emilio Pucci is one of Italy’s storied jet-set brands of the Sixties, synonymous with dazzling prints on silk jersey, which the founder even applied to skiwear early in his career, pioneering a lifestyle approach to fashion.
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