Emilio Pucci, Marquis di Barsento, was born on November 20, 1914, to an aristocratic family in Naples and died November 29, 1992, in Florence. For some time, he studied at the University of Milan and later went on to study at various places in the USA. In 1937 he graduated social science from Reed College in Portland, Oregon, receiving a Master of Arts degree. In 1941 he was awarded his doctorate in political science from the University of Florence.

In 1947 he set up a sport, casual and leisure clothing company.

His first attempt at fashion design dated back to 1948, when he designed ski outfits for women. A year later, in 1949, he opened his first boutique on the Isle of Capri.

He was actively designing sportswear and his sports outfits made him famous in the 1950s.

In 1950 he opened more boutiques in Rome, Florence, New York, Elba, Montecatini Terme, etc. Among his most famous awards are Neiman Marcus (1954, 1967), Sports Illustrated (1955, 1961), The Sunday Times – London (1963), the award of the Italian Association of Industrial Design in Milan (1968), awards from Rome (1982) and Paris (1985), the award of the US Council of Fashion Designers (1990), among others.

In 1992, Laudomia Pucci, Emilio’s daughter, became owner and manager of the Pucci label.

Today Pucci is owned by Bernard Arnault (LVMH), who acquired 67 per cent of the company in 1999.