As has become Berluti’s custom for the past three years, this season’s presentation took place at the Simone & Cino del Duca Foundation, with the opulent 19th century mansion transformed into an exhibition space for the collection. The immersion began with a large installation of a shoe heel in the entrance hall, the scent of shoe polish in the air, and the clip-clop of footsteps playing over the speakers.
The effect referenced an old Berluti story that Olga Berluti was able to recognize a client simply by the sound of his footsteps, which in turn reminded the team of a famous line from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s novella Le Petit Prince: “I shall know a sound of footsteps that will be different from all the others…”
Though the story inspired the poetic vibe of the collection (and many of the smaller leather goods featuring illustrations, which made for what will clearly be a popular gifting push), it was the idea of an idyllic garden that provided the main thrust.
Berluti has pruned back its offering in recent seasons, which has allowed the maison to more fully explore the classics. Impressionist-inspired brushstrokes transformed a quartet of the brand’s signature bag styles into portable works of art, while the Forestière jacket had an embroidered daffodil sprouting from its pocket. The Lorenzo, a soft and slim moccasin usually made from kangaroo leather, was updated in Buffalo leather and a flexible suede.
Newness came from flowers that were embroidered onto a super-light honeycomb knit jacket layered over a white floral silk shirt, and a bleu de travail jacket that was reimagined in lightweight suede in inky midnight blue. A new slip-on shoe, the Galet Bloom (galet is the word for a pebble found on the beach) riffed further on the theme, its silhouette inspired by the curvature of an arum lily.
The overall effect of all this flora and lightness was of summery ease imbued with a welcome dose of poetic whimsy. The final room of the presentation was devoted to repair and restoration, showing pre-loved Berluti pieces alongside testimonials about what they meant to their owners, asserting—in case there was any doubt—that these are beautifully crafted items intended to travel and serve through life. At a time when the word luxury has become untethered from any real meaning, Berluti snaps it satisfyingly back into place.
