Lilly Pulitzer finds new youth under the Florida sun

In Key West, the last inhabited island in the Florida Keys, where the road ends and the turquoise waters of the Gulf of Mexico begin, the international fashion press and numerous influencers gathered on Monday evening to attend Lilly Pulitzer’s 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, heir to the Pulitzer Prize and orange grove entrepreneur, and had the idea of creating her own brand. 

A member of New York high society, Lilly decided to keep herself busy by opening a small fresh juice stand in Palm Beach. But squeezing oranges and grapefruits makes a mess. Lilly then asked a friend who was a seamstress to make her a practical, simple, sleeveless, lightweight shirt dress covered with bright patterns—lemons, flowers, palm trees—that would hide the citrus stains. The result was a success, and customers quickly began to prefer the printed dresses to the fruit juice.

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

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

 
A true phenomenon, Lilly Pulitzer had up to 30 stores in the US by the end of the 1970s. And in Key West, more than 500 people worked in the print factory. “Life in Key West was punctuated by the factory’s activity,” acknowledges Isabella, a Key West resident who came to attend the event. “Everybody had a great story with Lilly Pulitzer. This success prompted Lilly Pulitzer to acquire a majority stake in the factory in the early 1980s, until its sudden closure in 1985 and the colossal loss of local jobs that left a lasting mark on the lives of the inhabitants.”

After lying dormant for some time, the brand was revived in 1993 when it was acquired by Sugartown Worldwide Inc. It was then taken over by Oxford Industries in 2010 for $60 million, adding it to its portfolio which 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 celebrating the brand’s 65th anniversary at the Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens in Palm Beach, Lilly Pulitzer is betting today on a new lease on life. Significantly, for the first time in decades, the brand has had the rights and access to its archives since January 2025.

“This is big 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 trademark and a completeness of the brand over 65 years of history, as well as an incredible platform for the future of the brand.”

Before the show fully dedicated to archives, the Lilly Pulitzer team hosted a welcome dinner at Ernest Hemingway’s historic home in Key West. A gorgeous place, with a 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 dating back to 1851. The Keys represent the joyful, colourful, magical world that we find in Lilly Pulitzer. I remember my mother, tall and beautiful, descending the stairs of our family home, wearing a colourful dress and spreading joy around her. Reconnecting with history is important, and it partly explains the longevity of the brand.”

Dressed head to toe in the brand’s signature patterns, the 130 guests raised a toast to the glory of the prints and Lilly, before sitting down to dinner. The jackets and evening dresses featured vintage patterns depicting Palm Beach locations and landscapes, others featuring 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 setting populated by alligators, elephants, and flamingos, celebrating the Florida lifestyle.

Held the following day on the large terrace of the Casa Marina Resort hotel, with its palm tree decor, the show kicked off with a small plane flying over the guests’ heads and a Jackie Kennedy lookalike appearing out of nowhere.

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

“Bohemian-style patterns are all based on the brand’s archives, all hand-painted and most created in the 1970s,” commented Mira Fain, chief creative officer at Lilly Pulitzer. “A collection that perfectly represents the Resort Chic spirit of our brand, which is all about needs and comfort, easy care and easy wear, with a chic and sophisticated touch.” 

From beach dresses and cocktail dresses, the Lilly Pulitzer 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 gingham-patterned bustiers reminiscent of Saint-Tropez.

A few men models wore a full floral suit with flip-flops, or the smart version with a black and white blazer, floral pants, and loafers.

Committed to a process of modernisation, the brand has revamped 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 are continuing our efforts and introducing new products built on heritage,” adds Fain. “We also launched a men’s collection a year ago that men love, launched a table top home 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 by hunting for vintage models, others by discovering us on social media or in our stores.” 

While the brand remains tight-lipped about its upcoming store openings, it currently has 70 boutiques in the US 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 per year. And renovations will continue. We are also looking more and more internationally. Resort towns are our gateway. Saint-Tropez, where we shot our latest campaign, interests us, as do Spain and Greece.”

After cocktails along the beach and a break on deck chairs customised in Lilly Pulitzer’s signature colours, guests left Key West, with the brand’s most devoted fans treating themselves to a night in the Lilly Pulitzer suite, open for reservations for one month. The suite is entirely covered in wallpaper and paintings featuring flowers, turtles, suns, butterflies, and the famous rooster, the emblem of Key West.