From Cape Town to Cap Ferrat, the fashion crowd’s vacation spots are the stuff of dreams. As creative director of Emilio Pucci and impresario of his own collection, MSGM, Massimo Giorgetti has few precious moments to relax. When summer arrives, he manages to sneak away to Liguria, the Bahamas, and Bali to spend some quality time with his inner circle.
How did you spend your childhood summers?
I have to say that I feel very, very lucky—I had a beautiful childhood, because I came from a very simple family and a very healthy environment. I grew up also with my grandparents in a typical Italian villa in the hills close to Rimini. It’s the same town where Roberto Fellini was born. We were very close to the beach, so from April to October we spent a lot of weekends at the beach. I spent every summer there, even as a teenager. It was nice, because my mother has seven sisters and my father has five brothers and one sister, so I have about 35 cousins. But it was simple, because I didn’t have a computer and we only had a black and white TV. My parents also loved the mountains, so for all of August we would go to the Alps and go camping with tents and do a lot of hiking. I would go to the Rimini Riccione, which was famous for its clubs, discos, and beaches. In the ’80s and ’90s, it was like what Ibiza and Mykonos are today.
How do you spend your summers now?
When summer arrives, I need to rest and relax, and I need the beach, but not anywhere crowded where the fashion industry hangs out. I really hate places like St. Tropez, Monte Carlo, and Ibiza, because they’re too commercial and there are too many people. I prefer a more intimate place where I can relax. But two summers ago, I went twice to L.A. and I loved it. Venice Beach was great. I also went to Eleuthera in the Bahamas, where we rented a simple villa. I don’t like luxury hotels—I prefer to be right on the beach.
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- A scene from Marettimo, one of the Aegadian Islands in the Mediterranean Sea west of Sicily. (Getty Images)
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- Pane (pronounced PAH-nay, the Italian word for bread), Giorgetti’s dog in Courmayeur, Italy.
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- Seaside view of Zoagli, a town in Liguria, Italy. 6. A picturesque view of the town of Zoagli.
Who do you travel with?
I’m always with my boyfriend. We’ve been together for six years. But in August, we always go on holiday with friends. We go as a big group; usually about 10 people. Only four of them work in fashion. We’ve spent summer holidays on a boat, sailing a catamaran.
Do you sail the boat yourself?
No. I did a sailing course one time, but it was too difficult.
What are your vacation rituals?
I always like to finish vacations in a city. I spend at least two weeks at the beach, but after 10 days of relaxation, I need culture. After the Bahamas last summer, my friends and I spent four days in New York. It was completely different from when I’m there on business. I had no appointments at all, and it was a dream.
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- A skate park in Venice Beach, California.
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- A beach scene in Miami, Florida.
Do you have any summer traditions with your friends?
When we arrive at our destination, we have a very important aperitif during sunset. We usually start our vacation with champagne or prosecco, and we like to be a little bit drunk. [Laughs] Cocktails are very important. They are my only vice—I don’t smoke or do drugs. The day after we arrive, we start to relax and we are very independent from one another. One person might be watching TV, the other person is going to the beach, or the other one is going running.
Which escapes are on your bucket list?
There are a lot of places, but this summer we will go to Bali for the first time. I’m really excited about it, because I’ve wanted to go there for 10 years. Another dream is to go to the Arctic Sea on a boat. I had a friend who went last summer and he loved it. Another dream, which is a little bit weird, is to go to Moscow. It’s actually not so far from Milan. My boyfriend doesn’t want to go there [laughs], but that’s for political reasons. One big drama of my life is that I’m usually going places for business, but I don’t have time to see anything. Last May, I went to Hong Kong but also only for three days. I just came back from Tokyo and I was only there for two days and I had our store party and about 10 interviews with the press. It’s insane!
Any places we’ve left off?
When I started to work at Pucci, my gift to myself was a little house by the beach in a town called Zoagli in Liguria. I go there on the weekends. Italians are very lucky—we have so many beautiful places to visit in our country. Also in the winter, I love to snowboard in Courmayeur, which is two hours from Milan. When I’m in the mountains in the silence of the early morning, on the fresh snow, I’m okay with the world.
Photography: Getty Images, Shutterstock
