Pucci

Emilio Pucci, a Florentine marchese and former Olympic skier, founded his house in 1947 after a ski-slope photograph of his own design caught the eye of the fashion press and launched an accidental career.

By 1950 he had opened a boutique on Capri, where his vibrant resortwear, slim 'Capri pants' and weightless silks captured the spirit of the post-war Mediterranean jet set.

His swirling, kaleidoscopic prints in electric colour earned him the title 'Prince of Prints', and his patterns became so recognisable they needed no logo at all.

Pucci pioneered the use of fine silk jersey to create clothes of revolutionary lightness and freedom, even designing the uniforms for the supersonic jet age and, famously, an Apollo mission emblem.

Today Pucci endures as a celebration of colour, optimism and movement, a Florentine house forever synonymous with the glamour of the endless Italian summer.