Lilly Pulitzer finds a second youth under the Florida sun

In Key West, the last inhabited island in the Florida Keys, where the highway ends and the turquoise waters of the Gulf of Mexico begin, the international fashion press and numerous influencers gathered on Wednesday afternoon to attend the Lilly Pulitzer fashion show.

The location was chosen as a nod to the brand's heritage, launched in Palm Beach, Florida, in the mid-1950s, when Lillian Lee “Lilly” Pulitzer married Pete Pulitzer, Pulitzer Prize heir and orange tree businessman, and had the idea of ​​creating her own brand.

A member of New York socialite, Lilly decided to keep busy by opening a small fresh juice stand in Palm Beach. But juicing oranges and grapefruits is a disaster. Lilly then asked a friend who was a seamstress to make her a practical, simple, sleeveless, lightweight shirt dress covered in bright prints (lemons, flowers, palm trees) that would hide the citrus stains. The result was a success and customers quickly began to prefer printed dresses to fruit juice.

In its day, the fabrics were printed in Key West, at the Key West Hand Print Fabrics factory, a reference in textiles and prints, and where the American artist Suzie Zuzek, a textile designer based in Key West, supervised the designs.

Between 1962 and 1985, Zuzek provided more than 2,000 designs for Lilly Pulitzer, becoming the brand's primary supplier. The color palette of turquoise, coral and lime green and tropical prints caught the attention of Jacqueline Kennedy, a childhood friend of Lilly, who appeared on the cover of Life magazine in 1962 in a lemon yellow dress, causing sales to skyrocket.

A true phenomenon, Lilly Pulitzer had up to 30 stores in the United States in the late 1970s. And in Key West, more than 500 people worked in the printing press. “Life in Key West was marked by factory activity,” acknowledges Isabella, a Key West resident who attended the event. “Everyone had a great story with Lilly Pulitzer. This success led Lilly Pulitzer in the early 1980s to acquire a majority stake in the factory, until its sudden closure in 1985 and the colossal loss of local jobs that left a lasting mark on the lives of residents.”

After lying dormant for some time, the brand was revived in 1993 when it was acquired by Sugartown Worldwide Inc. It was then acquired by Oxford Industries in 2010 for $60 million, adding it to its portfolio that already included Tommy Bahama, Johnny Was and Southern Tide. Not owning the prints, the brand continued its history by commissioning new designs.

After a fashion show two years ago to celebrate the brand's 65th anniversary at the Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens in Palm Beach, Lilly Pulitzer is betting on a new lease on life today. Significantly, for the first time in decades, the brand has the rights and access to its archives from January 2025.

“This is great news for the brand,” explains Michelle Kelly, CEO of Lilly Pulitzer. “The collection of prints from 1962 to 1985 is a true American treasure. It represents the unification of the artwork and the brand and the integrity of the brand over 65 years of history, as well as an incredible platform for the future of the brand.”

Before the archival show, the Lilly Pulitzer team hosted a welcome dinner at Ernest Hemingway's historic home in Key West. A beautiful place, with a swimming pool, garden and writing studio where the author wrote some of his novels in the mid-1930s.

“Like Lilly Pulitzer, my grandfather loved Key West,” said Mariel Hemingway, who co-hosted the party with Lilly Leas Ferreira, Lilly Pulitzer’s granddaughter. “He enjoyed the tropical climate, which helped him be creative, and convinced him to live for a few years in this colonial house that dates back to 1851. The Keys represent the happy, colorful and magical world we found at Lilly Pulitzer. I remember my mother, tall and beautiful, coming down the stairs of our family home, wearing a colorful dress and spreading joy around her. Reconnecting with history is important, and that partly explains the longevity of the brand.”

Dressed from head to toe in the brand's signature patterns, the 130 guests toasted the glory of prints and Lilly, before sitting down to dinner. Jackets and evening dresses featured vintage patterns depicting Palm Beach locations and landscapes, others featured zebra stripes inspired by New York's Club El Morocco, also known as “Club Zebra” in the 1950s, and prints designed by Dee Ocleppo, wife of designer Tommy Hilfiger, revealing an ultra-tropical environment populated by alligators, elephants and flamingos, celebrating the Florida lifestyle.

The show, which was held the next day on the large terrace of the Casa Marina Resort hotel, decorated with palm trees, started with a small plane flying over the heads of the guests and a Jackie Kennedy double appearing out of nowhere.

Under the honey-colored tropical light of Key West, the first silhouettes appeared on the catwalk. A succession of short and long dresses, often adorned with embroidery, featured an avalanche of floral and vegetal motifs, including rose buttons or petals, lilies of the valley, palm leaves, daisies, corn, lilies and more.

“All of the bohemian-style patterns are based on the brand's archives, all hand-painted and most created in the 1970s,” said Mira Fain, creative director at Lilly Pulitzer. “A collection that perfectly represents the Resort Chic spirit of our brand, which is committed to needs and comfort, easy care and easy use, with a chic and sophisticated touch.”

From beach dresses to cocktail dresses, Lilly Pulitzer's Spring/Summer 2026 collection was full of nostalgic nods to the '60s and '70s with short, relaxed shift dresses paired with headscarves, floral rompers paired with tweed jackets, and check-print bustiers reminiscent of Saint-Tropez.

Some male models wore a floral suit complete with flip-flops, or the dressy version with a black and white jacket, floral pants and loafers.

Committed to a modernization process, the brand has renewed its logo in recent years, launched a major media and social media campaign last year and is increasing its collaborations, most recently with French brand Saint-James and orange juice brand Natalie's Orchid Island Juice.

“We continue our efforts and introduce new products based on heritage,” adds Fain. “A year ago we also launched a men's collection that men love, launched a home table collection and redesigned our flagship store in Palm Beach. All of this is paying off, and a new generation of customers are discovering us, some searching for vintage models, others discovering us on social media or in our stores.”

While the brand is remaining tight-lipped about upcoming store openings, it currently has 70 boutiques in the U.S. and 300 wholesale outlets.

“Lilly Pulitzer's retail history began in Florida, then expanded north to Chicago and then west to California and Hawaii,” explains Kelly. “Other stores will open at a rate of four to five a year. And the renovations will continue. We are also increasingly looking abroad. Tourist cities are our gateway. Saint-Tropez, where we shot our last campaign, interests us, as do Spain and Greece.”

After cocktails on the beach and lounging on custom lounge chairs in Lilly Pulitzer's signature colors, guests left Key West and the brand's most devoted fans treated themselves to a night in the Lilly Pulitzer suite, open for reservations for a year. The suite is completely covered in wallpaper and paintings with flowers, turtles, suns, butterflies and the famous rooster, the emblem of Key West.