“I’m happy to finally give birth — I feel like it’s been 10 months instead of nine, so I’m way overdue,” Kris van Assche told WWD before the outing of his first show for Berluti. Van Assche is the former Dior Homme designer, now in at the men’s luxury brand, famous for its exquisite bags and footwear. And it’s with one specific Berluti shoe – the Venezia – that the new collection began. The shoe is the go-to staple for Berluti customers, famous for its patina made using solvents, pigments and dyes to achieve an vintage look. The complicated age-old technique has become a totem of Berluti’s skills with leather and luxury skins. One long leather trench was patinated in the same way and beautiful. Trousers came stamped with the Berluti logo and printed down the leg, these were worn with a sharp tailored jacket. The casualwear offer outweighed the suiting: a blouson hoodie in red and a more casual trouser shapes spoke to luxury’s current love-in with streetwear archetypes. Know that the modem luxury customer requires comfort with his price tag. But most of all, Van Assche is tailor: the suits he did do were impeccable and will speak to the customer base, he grew in his former post. These shoppers want fitted, smart and quality suits – that’s their look. An alligator blouson will speak to that all-important high-spend customer, the one who travels for business all year. The one with multiple houses and multiple wardrobe to go with them. Luxury is alive and well at Berluti.
Photography by Jason Lloyd- Evans.
