“Pucci didn’t just design dresses. He helped reinvent Italy.”
Did you know that one of the most celebrated fashion designers of the twentieth century was also a wartime hero whose actions helped shape modern international law?
In this extraordinary episode of 15 with Fosca, I sit down with acclaimed authors and cultural historians Idanna Pucci and Terence Ward to discuss their riveting new biography, Emilio Pucci: The Astonishing Odyssey of a Fashion Icon.
Most people know Emilio Pucci as the visionary designer whose bold prints and revolutionary fabrics transformed postwar fashion. Few know that before becoming an international style icon, he was a decorated pilot, resistance figure, and central player in one of World War II’s most consequential secret missions.
Drawing on newly declassified OSS and CIA documents, Idanna and Terence reveal how Pucci risked his life to help smuggle Galeazzo Ciano’s diaries to the Allies—documents that exposed the true relationship between Hitler and Mussolini and later became critical evidence at the Nuremberg Trials.
But this conversation is about far more than fashion and history. It is about courage, curiosity, positivity, reinvention, and the extraordinary ways one life can intersect with the great turning points of history.
From the darkness of fascism to the explosion of color that became Made in Italy, this is a story of resilience and rebirth.
Biography
Terence Ward and Idanna Pucci are writers and cultural historians whose non-fiction works explore social justice, and cross-cultural exchange. Ward was raised in Tehran while Pucci grew up in Florence where she witnessed the creativity of her uncle, Emilio Pucci, and later worked for him in New York City. Idanna is the author of The Lady of Sing Sing and The World Odyssey of a Balinese Prince. Terence is the author of Searching for Hassan: A Journey to the Heart of Iran and The Guardian of Mercy: How an Extraordinary Painting by Caravaggio Changed an Ordinary Life. He serves on the international board of The Markaz Review, a literary review that embraces all Middle Eastern cultures. Their award-winning documentaries include Black Africa White Marble and Talk Radio Tehran. They live in Florence.
Links
terenceward-idannapucci.com
https://www.instagram.com/terenceward.idannapucci/
NYU CASA ITALIANA with Ruth Ben-Ghiat, MARCH 13
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nv0vlgkJ32c&t=4691s
SAN FRANCISCO ITALIAN CULTURAL CENTER with Alfonso Montuori MARCH 24
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvzoyYnIs8A&t=290s
Get your copy of Emilio Pucci: The Astonishing Odyssey of a Fashion Icon:
https://www.amazon.com/Emilio-Pucci-Astonishing-Odyssey-Fashion/dp/125028967X
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Podcast Producer: Andrew Niklas Curtis
Recording and post-production Lorenzo Maiani, Faminore Sound Agency
