Brunello Cucinelli, Italian Comfort:- Part 2

In the previous BC post, I spoke about their ready to wear suits and the details of them. This article will centre around their footwear and beginnings. Brunello Cucinelli started off as a purveyor of cashmere, supplying to the larger mills and brands, such as Loro Piana and Zegna. After a few years of this, Brunello Cucinelli decided to design his first product, the cashmere cableknit jumper that cemented their brand.

The original products were sports luxe and casual, "sports chic" as described by the manager of one store on Burlington Gardens. They were made with practicality, youth and fashionable allure in mind. Useful, beautiful, fashionable- a concise ethos from what I saw. The brand has become much larger since those infant years, now purveying ties and pocket squares.... Up to unlined jackets and black tie suits with silk faceted shawl lapels.

The nature of The Voice Of Elegance is to educate those on classic style with contemporary undertones, and vice versa. Ergo, I will not posting about the "sports luxe" side of Cucinelli, until my website expands of course.....

 Observe the above picture, a pair of double monks that look quite frankly, gorgeous. The shade of brown is a melange of chocolate, espresso and oaker. The effect that is on the leather is one to resemble rawer hides being left on or reindeer skin being used to make the show, these effects can be achieved by using the former method or by digitally printing it on, this can be spotted by the leather still being smooth to the touch.

These double monks are rather a 3 in one. A monk, spectator and a brogue. The broguing design is merely for show (as it is on all modern brogues) whilst the buckles make it a monk, and the contrast leather/fabric pattern makes it a spectator like so ething from Boardwalk Empire or the Great Gatsby. I am an advocate of brogues and a dedicated follower to the double monk, even the spectator.... But this shoe does resemble a golfing shoe I once saw on Pierce Brosnan's feet in Remington Steele. If both the upper and lower last were made of leather or leather/canvas, and dyed different colours still, then I would have bought them myself!

 These monks are classicly Italian, understated aesthetics with maximum sprezzatura. The contrast grains are more elegant, being more subtle and practical, allowing for the broguing pattern on it to not become garish. Cucinelli brogues have the top buckle and strap follow the ankles curvature, making European makers instantly noticeable whilst I see most British makers such as John Lobb and  Church's favour the parallel strapping, as opposed to curving straps. This may not be noticeable in ALL makers, but in the ones I have a great interest in. Notice the golden buckles too, the gold doesn't clash with the brown like silver or black would, bringing out the patina more also.

Notice the soles, halfway between dress and practical, Danite soles are on Cucinelli shoes with a Goodyear welt. They strangely resemble a pair of desert boots I own from this angle. Goodyear welting is arguably the only type of welting that should be done on shoes; it is easy to remove and replace without damaging the shoe itself and offers the longest time of wear and comfort too. Goodyear welting was done on these shoes aswell as hand-done stitching in areas that could usually be done by machine, the little details keep racking up in Mr Cucinelli's favour. 

These shoes are the Cucinelli dress shoe, a half oxford. It's a half oxford, yes... It has an oxford's lacing system and appearance, but a derby's construction with cut and amounts of leather used. Although, it's not noticeable to the untrained eye so no discerning gentleman should worry. They are calf skin and given a brown/dark brown patina that is not too noticeable until the light catches it. 

 I present the more casual derby, similar in appearance other than the open lacing system and single piece lower. The patina on this was more prominent, showing hints of burgundy or red. It was so subtle that I had to look twice, but it's certainly in there.

The shine of the shoes themselves are not overly magnificent, they're even and thorough but not as mirror-like as my dress shoes or other boutiques dress shoes, Gaziano Girling or Cheaney for example. I asked why this was, and the gentleman I spoke to said that it kept in line with the more nonchalant vibe that Bruenllo Cucinelli wishes to purvey in his product.

The shoes were rather interesting to see, and quite varied in the store. They reached from leather varieties to suede varieties and patterns, configurations and colour combinations. Although, the shines and patinas were too nonchalant for my personal tastes, but nevertheless the shoes are beautiful within their own right. Coming up next, I will be writing about the outerwear and fabrics used at Brunello Cucinelli.

Stay stylish-stay happy,

Kieran