admin Brunello Cucinelli turned 70 in September. He threw a grand birthday bash in his hometown of Solomeo, where he gathered 600 guests who witnessed him blowing out the candles on a cake at least one square meter wide. “I wanted to celebrate all the people who have supported me in my journey,” he said at a preview in his Milanese headquarters. “I called it the Dinner of Gratitude.”
Consistently sticking to clear-cut identity principles is what Cucinelli’s ethos is basically about. He hasn’t wavered from his observance of what he calls “aequilibrium,” a concept so pivotal to him that he named the spring collection after it. Balancing out contrasts to achieve a harmonious, ethical middle ground makes for the foundation of his company’s ways around business and for the timelessness of his style. Quiet luxury was there for him way before it became a recent trend, and he cringed when asked about it. “Fashion has always been about alternating waves of taste. When I started, Jil Sander and Giorgio Armani coexisted with Gianni Versace and Roberto Cavalli,” he said.
The spring collection was an exercise in the “aequilibrium” Cucinelli preaches. Clean, essential masculine-inflected tailoring was warmed up by artisanal special pieces called Opere to highlight their elevated level of craftsmanship. Often handmade, they were the visual peak of an otherwise calm, elegant offering played out in the subtle natural tones that are a Cucinelli hallmark. A standout in the lineup was a pantsuit in a slightly raw jute fabric, entirely embroidered with tone-on-tone sequined florals and worn over a matching brassiere.
Throughout the collection, silhouettes were kept neat and elongated, outlined with precise ease and lit up by metallic accents of liquid silver; denim pieces were also given a discreet glittery shine. Casual chez Cucinelli is always infused with a certain polish, and breezy informality is treated with a sartorial flair. Cucinelli, who definitely has a way with words, summed it up like this: “It’s tailoring with poetic license.”
