Emilio Pucci: The Astonishing Odyssey of a Fashion Icon with Terence Ward and Idanna Pucci

Emilio Pucci: The Astonishing Odyssey of a Fashion Icon with Terence Ward and Idanna Pucci

Please join us for a presentation and book signing featuring the “Drama of War and Postwar Italy Told through the Life of a Celebrated Artist”.

Emilio Pucci set his imprint on global fashion with his eye-popping colours, sleek fabrics, and swirling patterns. His designs, like sunbursts, captivated many of Hollywood’s greatest stars. Grace Kelly, Lauren Bacall and Elizabeth Taylor were all enamored of his liberating vision.

But what few realised was that before creating his world-famous prints, Pucci suffered both Gestapo torture and the duplicity of the future head of the CIA in a high-stakes drama of alliance and betrayal played out in the dying months of World War II. Behind the sun-drenched glamour of a style that came to define Italy’s Dolce Vita lay a story that can only now be told. Already hailed as revelatory in America by The New York Times and Vogue, Emilio Pucci: The Astonishing Odyssey of a Fashion Icon describes how the future designer risked his life to smuggle into Allied hands what has been called “one of the most important documents of the Second World War.” It was used as key evidence to convict Nazi war criminals at Nuremberg and became central to the foundation of international law.

The authors bring to life Italy’s darkest and brightest days, drawing on a long-hidden document written by Pucci for the OSS and declassified by the CIA only after his death. The cast of supporting characters in this fascinating portrait includes Mussolini’s daughter, Allen Dulles, Diana Vreeland and Stanley Marcus. The drama plays out in the timeless city of Florence, on mythic Capri, in the Swiss Alps and post-war New York. It is a scarcely believable story of resilience that resonates far beyond the world of style.

About the Authors:

Terence Ward and Idanna Pucci are authors, cultural historians and award-winning documentary film makers. Idanna, Emilio Pucci’s niece, worked for him in New York before traveling extensively in Europe, South America, and then settling in Indonesia. She is the author of The Lady of Sing Sing, The World Odyssey of a Balinese Prince, Brazza in Congo, and The Epic of Life: The Balinese Journey of the Soul. Terence is the author of Searching for Hassan, a Journey in the Heart of Iran, The Wahhabi Code, and The Guardian of Mercy. He serves on the board of The Markaz Review. Their award-winning documentaries include Black Africa White Marble and Talk Radio Tehran. Ward and Pucci live in Florence.