Fausto Puglisi (Q3110)
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Fausto Puglisi is a fashion house from FMD.
| Language | Label | Description | Also known as |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Fausto Puglisi |
Fausto Puglisi is a fashion house from FMD. |
Statements
2013
creative designer
Fausto Puglisi definitely speaks his mind; being an independent designer, he’s able to say and do what he pleases. The idea of freedom was front and center while he was making his Resort collection, which read almost like a manifesto on diversity. “At a time like the one we’re living in, freedom is the first thing to defend and to restate,” he said. He played the diversity note not only by offering a collection suited to disparate body types, but also in the lookbook’s idiosyncratic casting.The characters involved in the production, which was shot in his design studio, include the controversial Italian singer and Instagram sensation Myss Keta, who performs her subversive lyrics in a face mask, and the Italian influencer and musician Elodie Di Patrizi. “They’re very intelligent women, their physicality is strong and sexy, but not perfect,” said Puglisi. “That’s what I like about them.” To drive home the point, he put Myss Keta in his signature bodycon stretchy lycra dresses slashed with bold colors or in almost-non-existent black numbers, short and curvaceous, paired with thigh-high silver stiletto boots. A Versace-redolent long dress in black crêpe studded with gold insignia and with up-to-there side slits, as worn on Di Patrizi, looked as if it could stop Milanese traffic dead. In comparison, model Ella Hope seemed almost tame, sporting romantic tiered dresses printed with camouflage motifs, tailored bicolored skirt suits, and fluid body-skimming pantsuits.But the casting’s pièce de résistance was the model Andrei Alin, an art student at Milan’s Brera Academy of Fine Arts. Lanky and slender, he looked great in the women’s clothes, sporting a studded black leather minidress, a sharp-cut ’70s-inspired pantsuit with flares and an elongated jacket with a fringed hem. Quite bourgeois-looking, the jacket was made out of a lavender silk-lamé tweed from Laurent Garigue, one of the suppliers of expensive tweeds to the house of Chanel. Asked about Alin’s androgynous physicality, a far cry from the muscular alpha-males Puglisi has always favored, he said, “I didn’t want to show any beefy men anymore. We’re living in such a fascist moment in Italy and in the world, I really wanted to keep away from this idea of machismo.” The willowy Alin looked anything but macho. “He’s a cross between Mick Jagger and Rudolf Nureyev,” said Puglisi. “He’s virile, but he’s free.”
19 June 2019
Exuberance is Fausto Puglisi’s middle name, and his new Fall collection has it in spades. At a visit to his studio, with its views onto Leonardo da Vinci’s centuries-old garden, Puglisi talked his way through a lineup that strategically spanned the kind of event dresses he used to put on his runways to more casual pieces, like bombers and button-downs, that retain his trademark zest but deliver it at easier prices.The lively logo print, he said, was inspired by an Ottoman carpet he picked up at Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar. He worked it up into many different silhouettes, from the lookbook-opening plunge-front, high-slit dress to a reversible bomber, silk twill on one side and velvet on the other. The bows were nods to Yves Saint Laurent, and they were big enough to substitute for a bodice or play the role of skirt. The bronze jacquard from Italy’s famous Teroni mill that he used on one of his signature A-line minidresses had a similar couture-ish sensibility yet playful spirit. This is really Puglisi’s specialty. Another noteworthy detail here: the button reproductions of U.S. $1 coins, which he also used as embellishments at the waistband of a full-length dress and a cropped Moro jacket. These are party clothes, but a lot of consideration and work has gone into them.
24 February 2019
It’s no secret that glamorous, sexy women fascinate Fausto Puglisi; if they also come from blue-blood stock, even better. “Elisabeth von Thurn und Taxis and Bianca Brandolini d’Adda, I’m crazy about them! They’ve supported me loyally from day one,” he said when asked about the inspiration behind his Pre-Fall collection. Who can blame him? Both women come not only with impeccable pedigrees but also with fabulous brains.Puglisi’s pantheon of muses is roomy enough to accommodate another couple of greats. Photographer Helmut Newton’s powerfully elegant perversity clearly appeals to the designer, as does Azzedine Alaïa’s talent for celebrating the female body in all its glory. Given those references, the silhouette here was sculptural, strong, and sensual. It played out in modern variations of the ’80s pouf dress. Neat, short, and geometric, they came with stiff ruched and plissé-layered miniskirts in black leather or in crisp cotton poplin with black-and-white polka-dot inserts. The cut was kept sharp and sleek throughout, as in a black pencil coat, a bubble-pink tailored mini skirtsuit (yes, Puglisi is a mean tailor), and in a figure-hugging acid-green duster in thick silk jersey worn over a matching hourglass-shaped long shift dress.Counterbalancing the sexy sharpness, Puglisi worked on a more fluid note for a series of caftans and flowing silk dresses printed in a motif inspired by a Turkish floral pattern found at Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar and reworked into a Mediterranean Baroque capriccio. Romance has always had a passionate southern flavor chez Puglisi, anything bohemian or frilly is absolute anathema. “I hate coquettish wedding-cake dressing!” he said in mock horror. His version of the dress-cake in question was actually an ’80s-inspired black-and-white bustier number featuring a flouncy asymmetrical skirt with a train that showed plenty of legs. It had just the right amount of flamboyance. This was one of the designer’s best collections so far, focused and well-edited. When the message is strong, you don’t need to scream to have your voice heard.
16 January 2019
Fausto Puglisi name-checked Azzedine Alaïa, Christian Lacroix, and Stephen Burrows at his Spring presentation today. Would those geniuses have seen themselves in his new collection? Possibly. Puglisi has made no secret of his Versace obsession, either. But despite the many boldface references he makes, Puglisi’s work is unmistakably his own. The color-blocking, the cut-outs and the hip-high slits, the gilt embroideries—they’re instantly recognizable.For Spring, Puglisi put his signatures through an even sultrier than usual Miami filter. Hailing from Sicily, he digs the heat, and if you get him talking about South Beach he isn’t likely to let up. His idea was to use a bathing suit with seamed bra cups à la Alaïa as a foundation for the collection. Puglisi turned it into a stretchy minidress, or layered an asymmetrical pouf skirt (there’s the Lacroix reference) over the one-piece. Swimwear as eveningwear is turning into a Spring 2019 trend. Puglisi likes the concept for its modularity, and his best take on it was a color-blocked, body-con tank dress.Other nods to Miami included the palm tree embroideries and the ombré dye jobs on leather motorbabe separates and floaty chiffon dresses. In keeping with the South Beach vibes, there was no shortage of embellished over-the-knee boots or jeweled stilettos. As for the embroidered slippers from Friuli (the Venetian region is famous for the babouche-like shoes), those were a surprise—a good one that played up the sporty athleticism of Puglisi’s stretchy separates and tube dresses. Will his extrovert customer wear her cut-out LBD with velvet babouches? Probably not. But she should give it a try.
19 September 2018
“That star, I found on Collins Avenue,” said Fausto Puglisi at an appointment this morning, reviewing both his Resort womenswear and Spring menswear collections. The shape he was pointing to was a graphic on one of his men’s T-shirts—flanked by a Metallica-font “Fausto” text imprint—and the place he was referring to was Miami Beach (on which Collins Avenue is a famous thoroughfare). “The collection is called Tour of America,” said Puglisi, “and really, it starts in South Beach.”Puglisi’s penchant for “wow,” for splash, for gilded-and-gloried Italiana has been compared in the past to Gianni Versace’s likings; not hugely surprisingly, this rococo reverb syncs well with Miami Beach’s’s Deco-neon simmer. Versace lived there; Puglisi “wants to visit as much as possible.” But the difference is that, for this season at least, the latter channeled the city through a much wider prism—as a microcosm, in a way, of American dress from the athletically casual to the harder and more street-spurred.For women, Puglisi hit it out of the park with easy cotton-poplin palm-printed dresses—about as daytime-light as the designer has ever gone, influenced, to an extent, by the style and élan of his friend Bianca Brandolini. Also: they will be less expensive than his usual fare. The dresses came tiered or cinched, at different lengths, all in sunshiny colors, all able to be paired with everything from flats to heavy leather boots to spike heels (depending on the hour). Another section paid its due to Michelle Pfeiffer’s immortalScarfaceslip dresses; Puglisi gave these a fluorescent high, and the effect was . . . well, euphoric. Puglisi idolizes the U.S., and with Miami as his entryway, the Magic City has worked its spell all the way across the pond right here in northern Italy.Puglisi’s menswear wasn’t as bright or obviously linked, but, again, one of its anchor motifs was that baroque detail found while he was strolling up Collins. Hoodies, tees, sweats, and a starry sequined jacket with sweatshirt sleeves all banded together into a closet, really, of hyper-casual streetwear. Some pieces featured statue prints, most had that Metallica-mimicking text. Puglisi’s next step, he said, is to develop the menswear market in the U.S.; we don’t think that will be too much of an uphill battle.
17 June 2018
It’s been five years since Fausto Puglisi emerged on the Milan scene with his raised-on-Versace sense of embellishment and opulence. The milestone became a sort of reckoning point for him. “Why do people call me?” “What shapes do people like?” “What sells the best?” He said these were the thoughts that animated his new Fall collection. He showed it in a presentation format, with outfits on mannequins and inspirational materials like books, DVDs, and his must-have Coke Zeroes arranged on wooden plinths. The setup suited the effusive Puglisi; his passion is animating. He also said it freed him up from a theme, which can be constricting. That’s an observation we’ve overheard elsewhere this season. Will fashion look different in a post-runway world? Probably.In the here and now, this was a survey of Puglisi’s greatest hits: the A-line lampshade skirt, the cocoon coat, gladiator dresses, moto jackets—all given the ancient Greek and Roman treatment. As anniversary collections tend to do, this one had Puglisi thinking about his origin story and his obsessions. It was typically bold and graphic, with no shortage of the intarsia patchworking, metallic and crystal embellishments, and strong prints he favors.At a glance, the panoply of black-and-white pattern here seemed to suggest Puglisi had quickly shelved the softer lace and linen experiments of his last collection. Wrong. There were relaxed, long linen dresses, and they were among the most tempting pieces in the offering. In an industry led by large corporations, it’s not easy for independents to make it, but Puglisi has learned that slow and steady wins the race.
22 February 2018
“Violence!” exclaimed Fausto Puglisi, plunging headfirst with gusto into a straightforward explanation of his men’s collection’s references and mood. He doesn’t mince words and he doesn’t skimp on controversy.Puglisi is attracted to renegades, rebels, and outcasts; one of his most memorable presentations, staged in Florence during Pitti seasons ago, included a posse of muscular guys picked from a nearby jail. He doesn’t play it safe; Pre-Fall was no exception.He tapped into the Italian hip-hop music scene and singled out a group of quite controversial rappers, who modeled in the lookbook. Heavily tattooed, their socially provocative, raw lyrics depict troubled and difficult backgrounds, hailing mostly from Southern Italy’s cities whose suburbs are often mafia-infested and extremely violent. Think Gomorra.The look was obviously a celebration of the street style that Puglisi favors and which was hybridized and emblazoned with his usual excessive imagery: frames inspired by soft-core movies; Latin sentences; golden studs galore; posts from his own Instagram; metallic effigies of the sun and images of statuesque male bodies printed across mega-size sweatshirts and hoodies; extra-roomy silk shirts; and massive black leather biker jackets. It was a no-nonsense, rapper-esque wardrobe, hypercharged, Puglisi-style, with explosive energy.
20 January 2018
Fausto Puglisi is famous for his exuberance, for dressing Madonna at the Super Bowl in 2012, and for the Hollywood sign tattooed on his forearm. As of tonight, he’s also a guy who learns from his mistakes. After the hyperbole of last season—pope hats and garter stockings are all you need to know—Puglisi charted a calmer, cooler course for Spring. He reined in the palette, the razzmatazz beading, and the heavy accessories, and he did so without rendering his collection unfamiliar; no mean feat.The inspiration, said Puglisi backstage, was Carolyn Bessette Kennedy. She wore a lot of black and white, and that was Puglisi’s palette, and she was minimally inclined, which was also a loose touch point. Perhaps she would’ve worn his elegant ivory-and-black linen coat dress or the very pretty linen slip with the lace insets at the bust and the hips. But Puglisi’s success here wasn’t in imagining a 21st-century wardrobe for that American princess; it was in recalibrating his glam aesthetic for our own less blingy time. Yes, there was gold beading, but stitched on black and white it felt less obtrusive. As for color, it was the blush pink of a ballerina’s tutu. Ballet was one of Puglisi’s leitmotifs; the tulle skirts registered on the young side compared to most of what he put on the runway. Among the highlights were the short and long slip dresses spliced together from scalloped panels of black and white lace and an ivory lace column with a deep fillip of black lace ruffle skirting the strapless neckline.Another positive: Puglisi sidelined the logo sweatshirts and tees that continue to turn other runways into high-low—emphasis on low—merch fests. The Stars and Stripes T-shirt was out of place here, but we’ll give it to him. All around, this was elevated and improved.
20 September 2017
“I went to detox,” said Fausto Puglisi, referring not to a slimming regime in a posh clinic in the Alps, but to his last show, for Spring 2018, in which he traded outrageous flamboyance for a more sedate look. Apparently, however, the detox is over, andLa Grande Bouffehas begun again. For Pre-Fall, Puglisi reverted to a more substantial diet of over-the-top more-is-more. As the saying goes, the leopard cannot change its spots.Puglisi is unapologetic in his attitude; he goes all the way with admirable candor. Here, he gave free rein to his ebullience—the collection was a sort of résumé of all his greatest hits. One could feel the effort of streamlining things a little, smoothing the edges of the provocative streak that in past collections hasn’t served him well, yet he couldn’t keep his flashiness at bay. His creative nature brings him in that direction, but often the outrageousness of his output doesn’t allow his considerable talent to be fully appreciated.Here, minidresses in candy colors were encrusted with black macramé and velvet curlicues, and topped by net inserts and tassels. Oversize bombers in black leather were emblazoned with pearls or golden metal effigies of the sun, one of Puglisi’s recurring motifs. Black hoodies were trimmed in gold fringe, while hearts and stars were printed on small-waisted dresses with full circle skirts. Elsewhere, a feel of Texas-meets-Cinecittà (the Hollywood of Italy, where Fellini used to film his movies) was suggested by the long black leather fringe that trimmed a pink and acid green overcoat worn over a matching minidress. Puglisi stressed that his clothes are not only worn by celebrities, but also by strong, assertive women from all walks of life. We believe him; they’re certainly not intended for wallflowers.
23 January 2018
Who would’ve thought that Fausto Puglisi majored in modern literature at university? “Well, yes, actually I studied also classic literature,” he said today. Even if his looks are not exactly those of a geeky scholar, and his vision often borders on the controversial, to say the least, he’s not one bit an illiterate fashion obsessive, just fond of all type of excesses. Actually, quite the contrary.Take for instance the Antica Roma statuary symbolism he’s so fond of and which, for his second menswear collection, he splashed unabashedly on XXXL surf-inspired T-shirts and sweatshirts fit, he said, “for a young Caligula living in La Jolla.” He could give you a lengthy, articulate lecture on their historic significance. Hercules, Caligula, the sun as a metaphor for power, the whole thing. It was fascinating fun.The men’s lineup was well edited yet unapologetic: The leopard cannot change its spots. Puglisi worked around a skater/surfer-inspired wardrobe; a Perfecto leather jacket was emblazoned with the wordsroyaltyandzeitgeist—“Don’t ask me why, I just liked them!” he said—framing an antique statue of Hercules (full-frontal, of course, with just a red star concealing what couldn’t be exposed). More oversized tees were printed withFaustoin capital letters across the chest and worn with jumbo boxing shorts. Self-confidence is not a problem here.Puglisi presented his women’s Resort collection in the same location; it had a brash appeal, and spanned from street-inspired excesses to floating softness. Poplin midi dresses with flounced skirts were printed with Indian Art Deco–inspired swirling motifs; the same pattern ran throughout in many different iterations on everything from skinny stretch leggings with a matching bomber and combat boots to red carpet–ready long chiffon numbers. Thrown in the mix were a couple of silver leather ruched minidresses, ballerina skirts in stiff layered tulle, a long zippered bustier dress, and a leather biker with bondage-inspired metallic details. The Puglisi crew is brazen and bold, with a riot of choices to spare.
19 June 2017
Fausto Puglisi opened his show with a short video starring Cristina Donadio of Italy’s hit TV seriesGomorrah. In it she marches amidst classical sculpture in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples before being dressed by her boxers and lady-in-waiting in a Puglisi robe coat of velvet brocade. If you’ve seen Jude Law’s investiture inThe Young Pope, the scene might ring a bell. “We are not at all like you,” flashed across the screens above the runway before they faded to black.True to that introduction, there was something defiant about this collection—its insistence on embellishment, its reliance on often heavy-handed styling, its droning soundtrack and eye-searing spotlit runway. Puglisi has always had a take-no-prisoners approach to his crystal and gilt embroideries, but here he amped it up. Way up: stitching his familiar sunbursts to quilted velvets in off colors, and adding feathers and lacing to the already heady mix. She’s a sexpot in a cutout minidress; she’s a member of the clergy in priestly ceremonial garb. Young Pope hats and garter belts served to muddle things further. There were some lower-key pieces in the lineup—a double-face cashmere duster coat in violet and peach, elegantly bare long wool dresses in black or ivory that showcased Puglisi’s cutting smarts—but their understated beauty was lost amidst the commotion surrounding them.Puglisi’s Emanuel Ungaro is on hold, whether permanently or not is TBD pending that company’s reorganization—there’s no Ungaro show in Paris this season. He’s also widely rumored to be up for the open creative director gig at Roberto Cavalli. He could’ve used a knockout tonight, but this collection missed its mark. Puglisi’s got a lot of people in his corner, though, so let’s just call this a temporary setback.
22 February 2017
Betcha never thought you’d see a grandpa cardigan fromFausto Puglisi. As Puglisi’s brand reaches the seven-year mark, the Italian designer perhaps best known for flashy embroideries—he famously dressedMadonnafor her Super Bowl halftime performance—is intent on expanding his repertoire. And so he put some slouchy mohair cardigans in his Pre-Fall lineup, Fausto-ifying them with mismatched rhinestone buttons and his signature color-blocking, and, for good measure, pairing them with floor-scraping tulle skirts in a rainbow of different hues or with nothing at all, save for red velvet combat boots.T-shirts printed with the word “Inferno” are likewise part of the brand’s growing sweep. But why Inferno? Is it the name of a particularly steamy nightclub? Puglisi clarified that he’s been considering Caravaggio’s work and what he called the dark side of humanity. “In a political moment as this,” he said, “it seems there’s no compassion. It’s like if heaven is only guaranteed for the richest, my sympathy for the excluded and the ‘forgotten’ human being is more profound than ever.” If we’re all dancing on the lip of a volcano, might as well do it in an Inferno tee, right? Leather boxer shorts, puffer jackets, and a Perfecto jacket with studding details are all of a piece with his earlier output.But elsewhere, there are other signs of the brand’s ongoing evolution. See Pre-Fall’s expansive array of outerwear—some jackets and coats with touches of curly shearling—and quite sophisticated white silk shirting and a super slip dress trimmed in black Chantilly lace.
17 January 2017
Fausto Puglisistaged an unorthodox presentation today, creating a wooden prison hung with religious iconography, stocking it with honest-to-goodness convicts, lighting the place with neon crosses, and perfuming it with church incense. The models walked a short runway for photographers, then clambered up and down the stairs of the set. At the top, some poked their heads through the wooden bars, others growled from behind them; one did a karate kick in the direction of the crowd. The project was a collaboration with Armando Punzo, who is the artistic director of Compagnia della Fortezza, a theater company within a prison in Volterra, Italy. According to Puglisi’s invitation, it was designed to showcase his abiding obsession with his roots in Sicily—its Catholicism, the many conquests that have occurred there, the local propensity for ostentatious dress.For some in the crowd, it was hard to see beyond the bars, both literally (details were easily missed in the darkness) and figuratively (the image of caged women was problematized). In the end, the former was the bigger sticking point, because this was Puglisi’s best collection in a while. Puglisi’s obsessions remain his obsessions, but he has clearly been listening to feedback from customers craving more lightness. The bird- and flower-printed silk cloque of a cap-sleeved dress had a fluid ease, and the heavy embroideries he has favored in the past were scaled back or replaced by prints. The starburst and cross motif of the final series of looks was a nice elaboration of his signature crystal and metalwork. Meanwhile, the palette—seen on color-blocked sheaths and a patchworked suede parka—was more palatable than it has sometimes been. Puglisi is headed in a good direction. The set was a smart instinct, too, even if it did make for frustrating viewing. Something to refine for next season.
21 September 2016
Fausto Puglisi’s clothes conform to a very precise, very particular notion of “Italian” fashion: heavily decorated, floridly patterned, brightly colored, and, for many, just a little too much. He’s right at home in Florence, with its ornate palazzi and rich backdrops of Renaissance masterpieces.Incongruously, Puglisi chose to show in a disused train station. Perhaps that’s because he decided to provide the ornament—a phalanx of bodies, male and female, like a Roman frieze, raised on a plinth and dressed in his latest offerings. That is, his Resort collection for her, and his menswear debut for Spring 2017. They sat perfectly together, in the specific world of excess that Puglisi occupies, like a Michelangelo mural via Las Vegas, or those early-’90s multi-model Gianni Versace campaigns shot by Richard Avedon. The women wore the short, razzle-dazzle dresses in multihued florals with jutting skater skirts or layers of embellished pleats that Puglisi has claimed as his own (bar a tussle with that aforementioned Versace legacy). The men all seemed like embodiments of southern Italian machismo—more than a few were bearded, bearing a striking resemblance to Puglisi himself.It looked slightly incongruous—but somehow not unrealistic. You could immediately and obviously relate Puglisi’s menswear toVersace, but also to the newer looks offered byOlivier RousteingatBalmain. Both labels do swift business for men—and are in the minority on the rails.Ask Puglisi why he chose now to show men’s, and he shrugs. “I was talking to Selfridges, or Bergdorf Goodman, or Joyce, or Lane Crawford,” he said, ticking off four of his major stockists over the blasting music that accompanied his Pitti Uomo presentation. “They said, ‘How about doing men’s? Because so many men are buying your oversize women's pieces.’ ” There’s obviously room for one more unapologetic maximalist, especially in the Italian fashion landscape, though you never imagined Puglisi to be the kind of designer to champion the newly fashionable gender-indifferent wardrobe. Especially as his visions of masculine and feminine—those pumped-up male models in glitzy sportswear versus A-line skirted, high-heeled females—seem as far apart as G.I. Joe and Barbie.While the kind of men who will shell out big bucks for a bedazzled bit of womenswear are, even today, few and far between, there are guys who will be drawn to Puglisi’s unapologetic adornment. “Men so many times are more free,” reasons the designer.
“A woman thinks, ‘Am I chic enough? I’m sexy too much?’ Whereas a man: If you like it, you wear it.” If you like Puglisi, you’ll be wearing bomber jackets encrusted with his signature gilt embroideries of starfish and shells, necklaces dripping with heavy coral, T-shirts stamped with images of Roman gods or Centurion helmets, and gladiator sandals studded with medallions, wrapping high up the leg under shorts printed with hothouse blooms or shredded denims.It was, it’s fair to say, all almost a little too much. “I don’t mind what is good taste and bad taste,” Puglisi claims. And there’s something to be said about how wholeheartedly and full-throttle Puglisi plunges into styles many would group definitively in the latter. It’s also convincing. In a strange way, it’s easier to see the customer for his menswear than for his women’s, so readily could the looks be pulled apart into single statement items—embellished bomber, embellished short, embellished T-shirt—and combined with other (presumably, less embellished) things. Perhaps that’s because the Puglisi man isn’t quite as trussed-up as his woman. You wouldn’t mind a few of his easier, roomier jackets slipstreaming into his womenswear collections, where looking overtly sexy is less of a fear, more of a guarantee. But maybe the situation will be reversed in those high profile retailers; you could definitely imagine the Puglisi woman dipping into the man’s wardrobe for those bullion-studded bombers.
16 June 2016
Fausto Puglisi’s clothes conform to a very precise, very particular notion of “Italian” fashion: heavily decorated, floridly patterned, brightly colored, and, for many, just a little too much. He’s right at home in Florence, with its ornate palazzi and rich backdrops of Renaissance masterpieces.Incongruously, Puglisi chose to show in a disused train station. Perhaps that’s because he decided to provide the ornament—a phalanx of bodies, male and female, like a Roman frieze, raised on a plinth and dressed in his latest offerings. That is, his Resort collection for her, and his menswear debut for Spring 2017. They sat perfectly together, in the specific world of excess that Puglisi occupies, like a Michelangelo mural via Las Vegas, or those early-’90s multi-model Gianni Versace campaigns shot by Richard Avedon. The women wore the short, razzle-dazzle dresses in multihued florals with jutting skater skirts or layers of embellished pleats that Puglisi has claimed as his own (bar a tussle with that aforementioned Versace legacy). The men all seemed like embodiments of southern Italian machismo—more than a few were bearded, bearing a striking resemblance to Puglisi himself.It looked slightly incongruous—but somehow not unrealistic. You could immediately and obviously relate Puglisi’s menswear toVersace, but also to the newer looks offered byOlivier RousteingatBalmain. Both labels do swift business for men—and are in the minority on the rails.Ask Puglisi why he chose now to show men’s, and he shrugs. “I was talking to Selfridges, or Bergdorf Goodman, or Joyce, or Lane Crawford,” he said, ticking off four of his major stockists over the blasting music that accompanied his Pitti Uomo presentation. “They said, ‘How about doing men’s? Because so many men are buying your oversize women's pieces.’ ” There’s obviously room for one more unapologetic maximalist, especially in the Italian fashion landscape, though you never imagined Puglisi to be the kind of designer to champion the newly fashionable gender-indifferent wardrobe. Especially as his visions of masculine and feminine—those pumped-up male models in glitzy sportswear versus A-line skirted, high-heeled females—seem as far apart as G.I. Joe and Barbie.While the kind of men who will shell out big bucks for a bedazzled bit of womenswear are, even today, few and far between, there are guys who will be drawn to Puglisi’s unapologetic adornment. “Men so many times are more free,” reasons the designer.
“A woman thinks, ‘Am I chic enough? I’m sexy too much?’ Whereas a man: If you like it, you wear it.” If you like Puglisi, you’ll be wearing bomber jackets encrusted with his signature gilt embroideries of starfish and shells, necklaces dripping with heavy coral, T-shirts stamped with images of Roman gods or Centurion helmets, and gladiator sandals studded with medallions, wrapping high up the leg under shorts printed with hothouse blooms or shredded denims.It was, it’s fair to say, all almost a little too much. “I don’t mind what is good taste and bad taste,” Puglisi claims. And there’s something to be said about how wholeheartedly and full-throttle Puglisi plunges into styles many would group definitively in the latter. It’s also convincing. In a strange way, it’s easier to see the customer for his menswear than for his women’s, so readily could the looks be pulled apart into single statement items—embellished bomber, embellished short, embellished T-shirt—and combined with other (presumably, less embellished) things. Perhaps that’s because the Puglisi man isn’t quite as trussed-up as his woman. You wouldn’t mind a few of his easier, roomier jackets slipstreaming into his womenswear collections, where looking overtly sexy is less of a fear, more of a guarantee. But maybe the situation will be reversed in those high profile retailers; you could definitely imagine the Puglisi woman dipping into the man’s wardrobe for those bullion-studded bombers.
16 June 2016
There was aMadonnamash-up onFausto Puglisi’s soundtrack. Her Madgesty wore a Puglisi-designed cape of almost papal pomp and circumstance on her recent tour—red, hooded, billowing, with scrollwork down the front. The cape was a very loose reference at his show tonight; if you knew what to look for, you could spot similar scrolling details on a long white dress with slits up both thighs, on the sleeves of an oversized white Perfecto, and decorating the front of a sweatshirt dress. Of course, this being a Fausto show, there was a good deal more going on, but the key to the collection just might be in the intentions behind that above-mentioned sweatshirt.Several years into his run, Puglisi’s challenge is figuring out how to inject the everyday into an aesthetic that is by and large performative—see that Madonna cloak. He took several concrete steps here, starting with styling choices like the models’ street-ready combat and cowboy boots, and a couple of NYC pompom beanies. Clothes-wise, Puglisi tried out knits, a category he hasn’t much explored, and made a push into outerwear, too. In the graphic, color-blocked style he prefers, his elongated cardigans and wrap coats looked as bold as the rest of his output. Ditto the bomber with mismatched sleeves and others with his signature palm trees wrapping around the elbows or splashed across the back. The designer used jewel tones in place of his typical acid brights, but ruby red and turquoise are hardly neutrals.Puglisi will never be a minimalist, and thank goodness. Then we wouldn’t get the kick of seeing his patchwork fur cape—a cacophony of burgundy, mint, and pink—or the little minidress modeled on a painting by futurist Giacomo Balla, a blur of speed and color.
24 February 2016
Fausto Puglisi’s style is not for the faint of heart. The man himself has extreme impact and the energy of a tornado ready to hit at full force. But behind the flamboyant, volcanic personality (after all, he hails from southern Italy, where volcanoes abound), there is a sharp mind and an articulate vision. Puglisi’s references are disparate. America fascinates him, as does mythology and Greek and Romanstatuaria. He loves Gianni Versace’s glamorous sexiness as well as Oscar de la Renta’s grandeur; he admires Nilde Iotti, a legendary Italian soigné Communist leader, as well as Texan blonde bombshells in studded cowboy boots; he swoons over Durango jeans of the ’90s but has a flair for the finest, most exquisite couture textiles. Surprisingly, this mixture gels into collections that make sense.For Pre-Fall, Puglisi toned it down a notch, showing restraint without compromising vitality. His lexicon was all there in full regalia, but it was enhanced by judicious editing and a customer-savvy approach. Texas was still the destination of choice; having lived in Dallas for a while, Puglisi knows a thing or two about the local style. It translated into embroideries and stitched appliqués that emblazoned abbreviated dresses, flounced or A-line miniskirts, blazers, and sweaters. Of course, there were studs and cowboy boots galore, albeit of the luxe variety.On a different note, a group of slim coats and cabans in a rich caramel hue were made in sumptuous double cashmere and perfectly cut with razor-sharp precision. They had a more subdued, classy vibe and showed a different side of Puglisi’s aesthetic. Or so it seemed. They were lined in deep black for a dark, dramatic effect. “It’s subversive bon ton,” said the designer, with a Cheshire Cat grin.
17 January 2016
Fausto Puglisiadmitted to a case of nerves before his show today. Since he arrived on the Milan Fashion Week scene three years ago, embroideries have been his stock in trade: bold, brassy, and full-throttle. Possessing as strong a signature as Puglisi does is something of a mixed blessing. We all love a designer with a recognizable voice, but sooner or later that voice starts to sound familiar. Puglisi’s new collection for Spring represented his biggest step yet away from the embellishments with which he made his name; hence the nerves.Citing Madame Grès and Halston as reference points, Puglisi embraced silk jersey with a hand so supple, so liquid that it has to be touched to be appreciated. But even without copping a feel, you could tell he was up to something new and different with a draped ivory gown boasting an asymmetrical cape straight out of ancient Greek statuary. We expect to see that dress making the rounds this awards season: It was that soigné. Other goddess dresses in that same material, be they short, or suspended from a bandeau bathing suit top, or in a bright combination of red, white, and blue struck a more expected note. They weren’t bad; they just didn’t have that element of surprise.In the end, this collection wasn’t a complete departure anyway. There were scads of Puglisi’s beloved embroideries, but he gave them a novel spin, mixing honest-to-goodness seashells with sprays of multicolor rhinestones, part Malibu, part Dallas, with some fine Italian-made intarsia knits thrown into the mix. Not for the timid, but then that’s never been the Puglisi way. We have a hunch that the encrusted cowboy boots, if he winds up retailing them, could become a mini cult hit.
23 September 2015
Our review will be posted shortly. See the complete collection by clicking the image at left.
21 June 2015
Diana Vreeland. Queen Elizabeth II. Loulou de la Falaise. Nancy Spungen. Anna Wintour's firstVoguecover. Nobody has visions like Fausto Puglisi does. He's always loved the brazen mix, but with his part-punk, part-regal, and entirely over-the-top mash-up, he out-Puglisi'd himself tonight. It was entirely intentional. After a season or two of exploring new lengths and attitudes to somewhat uneven results, he reported backstage that he'd decided to give his customers what they come to him for: exposed skin, electric color, and unalloyed bling.The news was in thekindof bling: Mounds of polished coral from Puglisi's native Sicily traced the asymmetric neckline of a little party dress, trimmed the front hem of miniskirts, and swirled atop the graphic black and white motif of a knit bra and leggings (both Vreeland and de la Falaise were big fans of coral). There were piles of brass pendant necklaces, medallion belts, and single shoulder-duster earrings. The jewelry owed a debt to Tony Duquette and Ugo Correani, and was apparently made with the help of a master craftsman who spends most of his time working on commissions from the Vatican. Not everyone has a cutout cocktail number and a hip-high slit evening dress kind of lifestyle, and as much as Puglisi lives for that kind of thing, he gets it: Jewelry could be a lucrative category for him.He pushed his vocabulary in other ways, too: adding easy to wear (but not simple to make, he pointed out) intarsia knit separates like asymmetric gladiator skirts, and throwing in some bleached denim for a lo-fi kick. Well, not so lo-fi if you consider the brass medallion embellishments that decorated a bomber and a pair of hip-slung jeans. Anyway, it was good to see Puglisi digging in and finding his groove here.
25 February 2015
There's something about dramatically asymmetric hems—and that thing is that they look vile. In the hands of Fausto Puglisi, however, that foully inharmonious shape acquired a certain disheveled, gladiatorial toughness. Perhaps the idea seemed acceptable because Puglisi himself is such an entertainingly "tells it like it is" designer. Take his POV on animal print (of which there was much, again, in this Pre-Fall collection): "Dolce does the best animal prints, but I love them too, and I wanted to do it in a graphic way. So I put them in my computer and destroyed them." Puglisi's remixed leaf-touched zebra and sampled leopard fought it out on circle skirts amputated above the knee, A-lines, and sweats. They roamed freest on the front panel of a marvelous crepe dress with a leg-flash slash Angelina Jolie was made for. Puglisi's particular-woman silhouettes played host to a romp of graphic squares; Romanesque reliefs; Sicilian-tooled, vaguely pagan hardware; and his queasy and querulously unignorable palette of brightly clashing pastels. If you like Puglisi, then you will like this. "I love my customers, and when I think about my collection I think about what these women want," he said. "They want to be beautiful, they want to be sexy, and they want to be amazing." For a certain girl, Puglisi is the answer.
17 January 2015
A Sicilian who grew up obsessing over Hollywood and idolizing Gianni Versace, Fausto Puglisi was born to make short, leggy dresses. Madonna handpicked the guy to outfit Nicki Minaj and M.I.A. for her Super Bowl halftime performance before most of the people at his show tonight even knew who he was. But at the moment he's battling dueling instincts. On the one hand, there are his proclivities for micro hemlines and macro crystals; on the other, there's the pressure of trying to grow a solid business. He knows as well as we all do that brands aren't built on rhinestone-studded cheerleader skirts alone.Those challenges were writ large at a new show that found Puglisi aiming in several directions at once—ancient Rome, the 1960s of Courrèges and Gernreich, and the punk scene. Gladiator skirts mingled withsalopettes, which shared the runway with holey sweaters and perforated dresses. The varied reference points weren't necessarily the problem, but many of the looks were heavily layered and wound up looking bulky around the midsection. And let's face it, orange and acid green just aren't easy colors to love. Inevitably, it was the least fussy pieces that connected. A lampshade dress in silk duchesse had a clean, sculptural flair reminiscent of Puglisi's early collections, and there was a relaxed elegance to the zip-front tank gown he showed with studded gladiator sandals that felt new. Puglisi's got a great graphic sense; geometric black-and-white prints were the strongest element in the show. And he still cuts a mean Perfecto jacket, the gold foil version being a particular standout. To borrow a football analogy from old Madge, this show wasn't a touchdown, but we're rooting for Fausto.
17 September 2014
If Fausto Puglisi is still relatively new to the fashion game, there's one aspect he's got down cold: The designer gives good quote. He certainly painted a vivid picture when he described his starting point for Resort: "Jackie O meets Andre Agassi." A lot can be gleaned from that statement—the Fausto girl is uptown and downtown, and she's feminine but not without a boyish edge. Puglisi was keen to touch all bases this season. That can be a tricky task, but he made a good go of it.Another takeaway: Puglisi is America-obsessed. That fact came through clearest in his use of tie-dye (Resort's surprise trend) on everything from denim to crepe de chine and silk twill. On denim and chambray in particular, the tie-dye lent his new collection a more casual-than-usual aspect, as did the tanks and tees patchworked with white French terry. We could take or leave the logo sweatshirts emblazoned with the Roman symbol of Zeus or the wordSpartan, but who can begrudge a fan a nicely priced gateway to a designer's brand? On the Onassis side of the uptown/downtown divide, Puglisi was playing with cut. He made his name with skirts that were part cheerleader, part ballerina, but here he was pushing a longer, slightly less look-at-me silhouette, dignified in its proportions. Try as he might, though, Puglisi can't rein in the exuberance—it's simply in his nature. Though the cut of a "nothing little coat," as he put it, was practically conservative, the leopard-spot silk cady fabric it was cut from popped. Something for every lady, then, as long as she's got a wild side.
8 June 2014
Fausto Puglisi isn't quite Milan's newcomer anymore. There are others coming up behind him who are eager to take that title. But that doesn't mean he's gone staid and grown up on us, not with AC/DC and Led Zeppelin on the soundtrack, and not with the explosion of color and embroideries on his runway tonight. As usual with Puglisi, his reference points came from far and wide: the artists Kazimir Malevich and Sonia Delaunay, the Ballets Russes, the Statue of Liberty. Yes, Lady Liberty herself made a few cameos, emblazoned on the front of sweatshirts and repeated in miniature on silk button-front blouses. "I want to be a little Frank Sinatra of fashion—you know he was Sicilian, right?" Puglisi said backstage. "This is my American dream."With Malevich and Delaunay for inspiration, there was a serious graphic punch to Puglisi's clothes this season, but color and embroideries have been his signatures from the start. What pushed his story forward were the new silhouettes: less body-con, more generous—not that Lindsey Wixson's opening color-blocked T-shirt and tiny embellished mini gave any of that away. Puglisi may still be at his best and most believable when he's working a bit of cling. Either that or embellishing a tough-chic leather jacket. Tutu skirts keyed in to the Ballet Russes theme, but they were a bit too exclamatory for real life off the stage. The easy volumes of knee-length plissé skirts and loose-fitting crewneck sweaters were the timeliest developments in this sometimes repetitive collection; they were not only in keeping with the major trends of the season, but also a smart way to spread Puglisi's DNA further into the daytime category. Best in show: a long-sleeve, flaring A-line dress inlaid with energetic swoops and slashes of red, lavender, yellow, black, white, and green.
18 February 2014
Milan's Fausto Puglisi landed on the Italian scene a couple of years ago and quickly made his name with lavish gilt and rhinestone embroideries. And so, it was fairly remarkable that his first-ever Pre-Fall collection shown in New York today was utterly devoid of them. Instead, Puglisi put the emphasis on graphic prints and electric shades of purple, mint, and tomato red. It was as punchy as ever. The mint and red made a particularly potent color combination.Puglisi is keen to appeal to both a "conservative, polished lady" and what he calls "the new generation," so the lineup ranged from coats and dresses vaguely Cristobal-ian in their egg-shaped silhouettes to thigh-grazing leather miniskirts and faded jean jackets built "for Cara Delevingne." For every lavish jacquard piece—"I'm obsessed with fabric," he said—there was another in animal-spot denim. Crinoline-lined flaring minis (wear them sans netting for a more down-to-earth look) shared the racks with graceful bias-cut gowns. Puglisi's versatility will serve him well on the retail floor. He reports that he just landed Bergdorf Goodman.
5 January 2014
"It's Carolina Herrera meets Axl Rose," Fausto Puglisi said backstage before his show. Now that's a sound bite. Puglisi has been fairly fearless from the start, but he went right up to the edge of bad taste in this, his label's first full runway outing. For one thing, he commissioned a saddlemaker in Tuscany to hand-make black leather harness bras that exposed a lot more than they concealed. The saddlemaker's straps and buckles appeared on a flouncy A-line skirt and a menacing motorcycle jacket, too.Going head-to-head with all the bondage couture? Some very of-the-moment palm trees. Puglisi used them as prints on silk twill shirts and ball skirts (trèsCarolina Herrera, as it happens), and stitched them in crystals and gold paillettes onto long dresses split hem to hip—lavish embroideries like that are his signature. As unlikely as the combination sounds, Puglisi's collection connected. He's got an engaging color sense, and he's a talented technician. Importantly, having costumed musicians for years before launching his label, he has a real eye for what makes a strong picture. It's no coincidence that street-style star Anna Dello Russo was an early fan.As the Italian shows come to an end, it's been a week marked by the emergence, long overdue here, of new designers. After false starts elsewhere, Alessandra Facchinetti made a good first impression at Tod's. Alexis Martial got noticed at Iceberg. Puglisi has the makings of a star. He already has a Super Bowl halftime performance under his belt—Nicki Minaj and M.I.A., supporting Madonna (a Puglisi fan herself) in 2012—and he's been hired to revive the French label Emanuel Ungaro. He definitely added some sizzle to this Milan Sunday.
21 September 2013
Fausto Puglisi is the fastest-moving new designer to come out of Milan in ages. After only a few seasons on the fashion calendar there, he nabbed a post at Ungaro. And this week, the designer brought his first Resort collection for his self-named label to New York, another sign that things are moving swiftly along for him.First embraced by the likes of Anna Dello Russo for his bedazzled and brightly colored wool crepe minidresses, Puglisi is now in expansion mode, adding silk twill prints, intarsia knits, and wild denim to his lineup, and pushing his signature fit-and-flare silhouette in new directions. This season, there's a fun flared-to-the-knee proportion, as well as a floor-length style with a thigh-high slit. Uniting it all was a lush palm tree print and a palette of acid pastels. The tropical mood was a long way off from his punk collection for Fall, but it still looked identifiably Fausto. It's his strong identity that guarantees he's going places.
9 June 2013
"It's about the punk revolution, blah, blah, blah," Fausto Puglisi said at his presentation this afternoon. We know the feeling. With the impending Costume Institute show, fashion may have once and for all sucked every drop of meaning and power out of the modern era's most anarchic moment. Puglisi's collection touched on some of punk's most potent tropes—tartan, leather, buckles, and straps. And then some. Puglisi is a bit of a magnet; the other pop iconography he riffed on in his 31 looks included Kurt Cobain's brushed plaids, Freddy Krueger's stripes, Yankees baseball caps, andCarrie—the Sissy SpacekCarrie, he wants you to know, not the upcoming remake with Chloë Grace Moretz.That's a lot of different elements, but Puglisi's signatures are strong enough that this collection felt familiar in the right ways. The miniskirts, the lavish metal and crystal embroideries, the printed silks… He's built an identity in a fairly short amount of time in the spotlight. To-the-floor dresses bejeweled with medallions and crosses, boasting matching slits up past the hip bones, counted among the newer pieces.On the other hand, Puglisi knows that not all of his clients are Kanye-rich. (West will receive the show's oversize, embroidered leather Perfecto by special delivery in Paris next week.) The designer also does unadorned, even if he doesn't get as big a kick from doing it. Compared to the rest of the collection, a sleeveless yellow crepe cheerleader dress with a hem up to there was positively understated. Puglisi debuts his first collection for the house of Ungaro next week. The fun he's having here is enough reason to be uncautiously optimistic about his chances there.
21 February 2013
Fausto Puglisi has seen his profile rise on the backs of glamour-pusses like Madonna and Anna Dello Russo. The former sported his gladiatrix designs during the Super Bowl halftime show last February. The latter started getting photographed in Puglisi's frocks a year or two ago and wore a pink minidress from his new Spring collection, with cutouts on the sides and embroideries just about everywhere else, to the shows in New York last week. Embroidery, Puglisi says, "is my passion." And there was more of it in his lineup today, with gold medallions and gumball-size rhinestones embellishing silk crepe miniskirts and the little tops he tucked into them.But the real news here was Puglisi's experiments with print and his continued push into everyday separates—we don't all spend our lives in front of the camera. The geometric prints were inspired by the marble floors of France's Fontainebleau castle, and it was interesting to see the range of different looks he made from them—regal kimono coats, 1960s coed dresses, rock 'n' roller leather jackets and jeans. If we had to guess, it'll be the sexy perfectos and skinny pants that will get snapped up the fastest, but it's Puglisi's ability to appeal to multiple demographics that suggests this is one up-and-comer who'll stay in the picture.
20 September 2012