Filling Christian Lacroix’s shoes can be daunting task. When the couture legend decided to leave Pucci, extensive controversy over who would succeed him ensued. The prevailing name, Matthew Williamson, seemed like an appropriate choice, given his experience with wild patterns. However, the designer’s debut at the helm of the Italian fashion house was a huge bust.

Eager viewers, arriving in hoards to see the new direction of the exuberant print label, were utterly shocked by Williamson’s sparse and insignificant use of Pucci’s trademark psychedelic swirls. Instead of playing up colorful pizzazz, Williamson toyed around with monochromatic knits, prim suits, stiff jackets and heavily embroidered coats. The world famous archival Pucci motifs entered the lineup in brief interludes. And when they did, the frenzied configurations imposed onto synthetic fibers did little more than to sear the eyes.

In the end the Autumn 2006 Pucci collection embodied the very definition of anti-climactic.

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