Psychedelic Psyche.(Christian Lacroix)(Interview)(Excerpt)

During next week's Womenswear shows in Milan, Christian Lacroix will present his second collection as head designer of Pucci, the fabled old label synonymous with swirling geometric patterns in vibrant colors. The stakes are high: founded by the Marquis Emilio Pucci di Barsento in the 1940s, the label was the height of '60s fashion when its graphic fuchsia and Mediterranean blue designs wrapped the jet set, including Elizabeth Taylor and Marilyn Monroe. NASA even asked the designer to create the logo for the Apollo 15 space flight. By the opulent 1980s, however, Pucci had gone out of fashion and reduced its production to a small line of clothing and accessories. After the marquis's death in 1992, his daughter, Laudomia--a classically trained designer--decided to revive the brand. Six years later she began showing Pucci ready-to- wear collections, winning rave reviews and heralding the return of Capri pants and bold-colored prints. In 2000 LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton bought a majority stake in Pucci, and last year it named Lacroix--the French couturier known for his flamboyant frocks--as head designer. He recently met with NEWSWEEK's Dana Thomas in Paris. Excerpts:

THOMAS: Your designs at your own couture house have always seemed to have a dash of Pucci. Why is that?

LACROIX: Pucci has always been in my head--its spirit and its style. When I was a child growing up in southern France, everywhere you looked, women were wearing either real Pucci or fake Pucci. The world was Pucciesque. And I remained obsessed with this look. The reason I love fuchsia and lime green, it's thanks to Pucci.

The company had very simple beginnings, no?

Nearly by accident. One day a chic Roman girl was photographed for the Italian equivalent of Vogue, and for the picture, Pucci lent her his ski parka, which he had made himself. [Harper's Bazaar editor] Diana Vreeland saw it and said, "Where did this fabulous anorak come from? Get it!" He flew to New York to see her, and it grew from there. In 1954 or'55 he hired artists to paint big bright motifs on silk for a collection--that started the Pucci look. Today there are 500 color references printed on fabric, numbered, in the archives. It's sumptuous.

Pucci went out of ...