Brunello Cucinelli Designs Icon Collection for Neiman Marcus
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MILAN — Neiman Marcus is recognizing Brunello Cucinelli’s “extraordinary impact” on the industry as the group’s chief executive officer Geoffroy van Raemdonck underscores “his talent for craftsmanship and unique approach to luxury lifestyle.”
Van Raemdonck will be hosting the Neiman Marcus Awards on Sunday in Paris celebrating Cucinelli, together with Jonathan Anderson and Amina Muaddi.
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Cucinelli will be bestowed the Neiman Marcus Award for Distinguished Service in the Field of Fashion and the Italian designer and entrepreneur couldn’t be prouder of this recognition, as he describes the storied retailer as “the most beautiful luxury multibrand” in the world.
“Neiman Marcus helped me grow my business in the U.S. and in the rest of the world. It’s a beautiful collaboration spanning more than two decades,” said Cucinelli, who has cherished the personal relationship with the retailer’s buyers and management over the years.
Marking the award, Cucinelli has designed the Icon Collection exclusively for Neiman Marcus.
The limited-edition collection is unmistakably recognizable as Brunello Cucinelli, incorporating traditional Italian craftsmanship, his distinctive neutral color palette and precious fabrics, but it was designed with the Neiman Marcus customer in mind, he said.
Cucinelli worked with his daughters Carolina and Camilla on the collection, which was photographed at a storied location in Italy. The monuments of Ostia Antica serve as the background with their ruins of temples and theaters. “The port of Ostia welcomed new fashions from around the world, which, coming up the Tiber River from the sea, landed in Rome,” said Cucinelli.
Ostia was founded in the 4th century B.C. at the estuary of the Tiber River, a strategic location for centuries, expanded by Emperor Hadrian — whom Cucinelli often quotes — and today a popular archaeological park. “I remain fascinated by what lasts for eternity, locations that endure the test of time, that reflect the eternal concept of beauty, always an aesthetic inspiration for me,” said Cucinelli, who has a long-term vision for his company, to “leave a memory of what we do” for the future.
The Icon Collection stems from this idea of eternity and timelessness, influenced by the antique monuments, the delicate marbles and sculptures.
The spring collection explores a palette of whites, beige and gray. The materials range from fluid and feather-light silk and linen to cotton and fine knitwear. Ribbed knits and open-weave stitches with textural effects are alternated and embellished with precious details and embroideries. Three special women’s couture Opera knits, each handmade by local artisans and embellished with micro sequins, are numbered. Embroideries with diamond motifs and piping in micro sequins are also sophisticated details on dresses and silk blouses.
“We joined our own vision with that of the Neiman Marcus customer,” said Cucinelli. “It’s quite easy because we know what they have been buying for 20 years; we understand their taste and needs.”
The collection will be on sale in April on NeimanMarcus.com and at Neiman Marcus stores in cities ranging from Dallas and Houston to Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco and Scottsdale, Arizona.
Cucinelli said the idea is to also create two additional collections for fall. Two events are planned during the year, one in Dallas around April and one in mid-October in Los Angeles and San Francisco.
He believes his commitment to making a yearly trip to Dallas as well as his steadfast support of Neiman Marcus Group have helped cement the relationship with management over the years.
“Brunello Cucinelli entrusted us with his business from very early on, and together we have built a successful relationship that has spanned two decades,” said van Raemdonck. “By giving Brunello our Distinguished Service Award, we are entering into a new, exciting chapter in our relationship with him and his brand.”
“Brunello is an icon who transcends fashion, having made his impact not only on our industry but on the world,” said Lana Todorovich, chief merchandising officer of Neiman Marcus. “Brunello’s brand has become synonymous with artful craftsmanship and exquisite taste, while Brunello himself has become known for his brilliant mind and incredible heart for people.”
To be sure, van Raemdonck underscored that Cucinelli “has been an advocate of environmental sustainability, humanistic philosophy and implementing social impact through the success of his brand.” He said that Cucinelli’s “taking care of human beings” and of the environment is in line with Neiman Marcus’ “Leading with Love” philosophy.
Cucinelli has spoken for years about his idea of humanistic capitalism, which includes economic, technological, spiritual, moral and cultural sustainability, and the moral and economic dignity of work. “What does a company do for the culture of the territory and of people? If you live and work in a pleasing place, the spirit is better,” he mused.
This means also paying taxes in one’s own country, because each company “should contribute to improvement. What is the logic behind a fiscal paradise? Taxes must help growth and contribute to beauty.”
His connection to the territory is reflected by Cucinelli’s investments in the medieval hamlet of Solomeo, his home, where the company’s headquarters are based, and which also includes a theater, a winery with a vineyard, and the building of the Monument to the Dignity of Man.
Through his foundation, he is currently working on creating a Universal Library, which is expected to be completed in 2025 and “meant to last for the next 1,000 years.”
Cucinelli is being recognized by Neiman Marcus for his influence on luxury fashion and his social and environmental initiatives.
This is the first award bestowed by Neiman Marcus since 2016, when the recipient was Carolina Herrera, preceded by Karl Lagerfeld in 2013. Before them, other awardees through the years have included Coco Chanel, Grace Kelly, Yves Saint Laurent, Christian Dior and Estée Lauder, among others.
The award is inspired by the cultural heritage of Carrie Marcus Neiman and Stanley Marcus and by the Neiman Marcus Award created in 1938.
Neiman Marcus started to sell Cucinelli knitwear in the fall of 2000. Two years later, Karen Katz, former president and CEO, and Jim Gold, former president and chief merchandising officer, began to ask Cucinelli to deliver total looks for women.
Menswear followed around 2004 after Burt Tansky, former Neiman Marcus Group president and CEO, saw Cucinelli at Pitti Uomo.
At the moment, womenswear represents 70 percent of the business done with Neiman Marcus and Cucinelli believes “there is so much more potential in menswear” with the store.
Last summer, Cucinelli and Neiman Marcus created the Muse of the West collaboration, which paid tribute to the American West.
Cucinelli has repeatedly voiced his belief in the wholesale and multibrand channel as a sounding board and an inspiration for the brand’s own retail network.
Today, Cucinelli is present in about 36 Neiman’s doors with the women’s collection and 27 with menswear, in addition to the online business.
In 2005, he opened a door in San Francisco, which helped to reach out to the all-important Silicon Valley customer, a strong cluster for Cucinelli.
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