Louder Than You Think

It might not shout about itself, but among the world’s most influential people, Brunello Cucinelli is everywhere. Its co‑chairman and co‑creative director Carolina Cucinelli shares why the Italian brand’s high‑end ubiquity is built on its rock‑solid values

- Richard Lord

A two‑word phrase tends to haunt any discussion of Brunello Cucinelli. A favourite of celebrities and the Silicon Valley set alike—its long list of fans includes Jennifer Lopez, Sylvester Stallone, Gisele Bündchen, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg and Reid Hoffman—the Italian luxury fashion brand is known for extremely high‑quality materials and craftsmanship, and a distinct lack of flash or indeed, any form of obvious branding. It is, in other words, the very embodiment of quiet luxury.

That is not quite how the brand’s co‑chairman and co‑creative director Carolina Cucinelli sees it, though. “We see our garments as an expression of the highest quality and excellence in craftsmanship, with a strong reference to the brand’s DNA,” she says. “So I wouldn’t talk so much about ‘quiet luxury’, but more of ‘gentle luxury’: ours is not a whispered or understated way of dressing; it’s a rather distinct and straightforward approach but, above all, gentle. The collections always revolve around this core principle: they must be recognisable and distinctive; they must speak of the brand and its philosophy without being intrusive.”

Brunello Cucinelli was established by its eponymous founder, Carolina’s father, in 1978, who dropped out of his engineering studies to do so after seeing a gap in the market for high‑quality women’s dyed cashmere pullovers. It focused solely on knitwear until the turn of the millennium, when it moved into suits, coats and more after clients started to ask for more complete looks.