The sleeping giants of Italian luxury From Loro Piana to Brunello Cucinelli, the Italian stealth luxury that today is trying to reinvent itself

«We don't want to make fashion», said Brunello Cucinelli at the conference in Milan on October 28th. «We would like to be the artisans of humanity». A phrase that was referred to the Universal Library project presented last week by the Umbrian designer and entrepreneur, but that could explain well the sometimes enigmatic nature of the brand that bears his name. Cucinelli is famous all over the world for its cashmere sweaters, for its completely neutral and anonymous total looks worn by Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg, who the designer has signed all the gray t-shirts he wears, as well as by half of the powerful of Silicon Valley. Recently, among other things, the designer spoke at the G20 in Rome shaking hands with politicians and prime ministers, after almost concluding a 2021 in which, in the first quarter, revenues grew by 313.8 million euros in the first quarter alone and an increase in sales of 32.7% in the first nine months of the year and now has 2200 employees and more than a hundred flagships scattered around the world.

In reality, it is likely that Loro Piana wishes to reposition itself only in part, returning to the spotlight to reclaim the prestige it deserves without becoming excessively commercial. The "awakening" of the brand, however, could suggest to the rest of the other Italian brands of ultra-luxury tailoring to follow its example. One of these is Canali, founded in 1934 and still run by the original family, which has recently co-signed a capsule with the emerging brand 8ON8 directed by Chinese designer Li Gong. The capsule is «an experiment on how to interpret Canali’s iconic tailoring pieces for a younger generation», explained Li Gong to WWD, and signals the brand's willingness to gain visibility among Millennials and Gen Z in the important Chinese market that constitutes about 20% of the brand's global sales that are currently growing. In communicating the capsule to the press, Canali insisted on the credibility and historicity of the company – but also underlining how, in the words of Alessandra Turra of WWD, «one of the biggest challenges that heritage brands are facing now is embracing the future with credibility and authenticity». 

This type of challenge, that of updating and innovation, may not represent an urgency for a strong brand like Brunello Cucinelli, for Kiton or Stefano Ricci that last May recorded an increase in sales of 58% driven by China, Russia and the USA also opening three new stores in Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Changsha. Yet the slow awakening of Loro Piana and its movement towards Millennials and Gen Z, as well as the desire to expand heritage brands such as Canali, highlights how the shock of the pandemic has created new potential spaces for expansion for a series of brands that, while armed with historical heritage and artisan craftmanship,  they have so far remained in the back of fashion. Specifically, the search for timeless quality and credibility by an increasingly young audience following the pandemic has paved the way for this type of change, especially in an important market like China. Right from there, reasoning about the success of a logo-heavy operation like Fendace, Lisa Nan of Jing Daily writes:

«Luxury brands should start re-educating the segment about their heritage, as that is where luxury brand values lay, and reviving it means they will always be able to win. Designs can easily get copied, but a brand’s history cannot. Many local consumers still need to be taught that lesson. [...] That is how strong relationships get built: helping fans understand the value behind the items they purchase.».