MILAN (Reuters Life!) - Italian fashion designer Emilio Pucci, owned by France's LVMH, has appointed Peter Dundas as artistic director.

Peter Dundas - Photo : Charles Platiau/Reuters

Dundas will start on October 1 and replaces Matthew Williamson who is leaving after three years at the brand.

Dundas was artistic director at Emanuel Ungaro until 2007 and before that was chief designer at Roberto Cavalli from 2002 to 2005. He also worked as a designer with Christian Lacroix.

Emilio Pucci is known for its colorful, abstract and psychedelic designs on silk, favored by stars such as actress Nicole Kidman and singer Kylie Minogue.

The house was founded by Marquis Emilio Pucci and took off during the 1950s on the back of a streamlined ski outfit he designed which featured in Harper's Bazaar.

He set up his atelier in the family palace in Florence and turned the ballroom into a place for entertaining clients.

In the 1990s, Laudomia Pucci started to take over the business from her father. LVMH took a 67 percent stake in the label in 2000 and Laudomia Pucci became image director.

(Reporting by Jo Winterbottom, editing by Paul Casciato)