Brunello Cucinelli Forecasts Post-Pandemic Style Rebirth
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With a little bit of Tommaso Moro here and a touch of Albert Einstein there, chatting with Brunello Cucinelli is something of an experience. Not only because of his philosophy-infused point of view but also because, even in the middle of a new lockdown, if there is someone who is able to see the glass as half full, that’s definitely Cucinelli. And we all know how some sort of positivity and optimism is absolutely needed in these challenging times.
The year “has been the most spiritually intense year of my life,” said Cucinelli during a phone interview, a few days before the opening ceremony of the 99th edition of men’s wear trade show Pitti Uomo, debuting online today. The event is being held in Solomeo, the medieval hamlet the entrepreneur restored over the years and that houses his namesake company. “I really believe that the experience of pain we all had — I lost two close friends due to the pandemic — enabled me to reach a new deeper spiritual dimension.”
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In addition, Cucinelli — who has always believed that creativity flourishes when people are able to travel, get together and exchange ideas — found that the disruption caused by the health crisis pushed him and his team to challenge themselves and find new ways to boost their imagination. “We have spent nine months isolated basically, but we never stopped. We actually got more time to think, to focus and already in July we were able to deliver a physical collection and now we have finished the fall/winter one 10 days earlier than usual,” he said.
Cucinelli, who is the creative director of his namesake brand, firmly believes that 2021 will be dedicated to finding a new balance. “A new balance between technology and humanism, as well as between being connected and finding time to dedicate to ourselves. After so many painful months, what we all need is kindness, politeness and grace,” said Cucinelli, who thinks that thanks to the COVID-19 vaccine we will finally return to normality soon.
If May 8, 1945, Victory in Europe Day, marked for Cucinelli’s father the return home after three years on the battlefield of World War II, Cucinelli thinks he will always remember Nov. 9, 2020, the day Pfizer revealed its COVID-19 vaccine was 90 percent effective in an interim analysis, as a milestone for this century. “Thanks to the vaccine we can now contain the pandemic. Surely, we have to wait and be patient a few more months, but the war against the virus is won.”
As happened after other dark moments in human history, Cucinelli expects a joyful, enthusiastic rebirth in the next few months. That includes a rebirth of style and elegance.
“After almost a year locked in our houses, we all want to get dressed and feel fresh and elegant again,” he said. “I actually cannot wait to wear a different blazer each day of the week.”
Expecting people to be keen to rediscover the pleasures of socializing, Cucinelli said that with his team he delivered a chic collection, rooted in the brand’s easy sophistication. Sartorial pieces will include pinstriped suits, as well as blazers worn with denim shirts and ties. Pants will be comfortable yet their silhouettes remain dapper.
“Even when we approached a bit looser shapes, we stayed away from sportswear. I think that people cannot take sweatpants and sweatshirts anymore,” Cucinelli contended. “I can’t wait to see beautifully dressed men and women, boys and girls, going out for dinner, attending parties, going dancing…We will actually have to learn how to manage the restart of the social life carefully to avoid feeling overwhelmed.”
And like Odysseus and the Mycenaean princes who felt like laying their weapons down after the Trojan War to return home, Cucinelli thinks that later this year we will all be ready to start a brand new life. In style.
See also:
Brunello Cucinelli Has New Idea of Social Contract
Life in a Post-Pandemic World: Reading the Tea Leaves
Giorgio Armani to Celebrities: ‘No More Creations Worn Only Once’
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