Brunello Cucinelli

On the 29th October, in the splendid setting of Casa Cipriani New York, and with over three hundred guests in attendance, Brunello Cucinelli was presented with the  prestigious “WWD John B. Fairchild Honor”. This significant lifetime achievement award, bestowed annually by one of the most influential global fashion publications, Women’s Wear Daily – of which John Burr Fairchild was the publisher (1997-2015), fully acknowledges the excellence of Made in Italy craftsmanship epitomised by the Solomeo fashion house. Brunello Cucinelli was chosen as the recipient of the 2024 edition of the award, as noted by James Fallon (Chief Content Officer WWD and Fairchild Media Group), in light of the “ongoing success of your company”, its continual innovations and the “perennial focus on mastery, creativity, craftsmanship, exclusivity, and the dignity of man”; as well as the “philanthropic efforts”  to the well-being of future generations, cultivated over the years by the Solomeo-based company. ‘This prestigious award deeply honours me. I view it as a tribute to the dignity of labour that we strive to nurture daily in our company. Upon receiving the news, my first thoughts went to my family and co-workers, whose creativity, grace and meticulous work made this success possible. 'Beauty' begins with beautiful human relations; in this sense, our creations are ambassadors both of high-quality raw materials and craftsmanship, and of our way of living and working. I am immensely grateful to the esteemed James Fallon, Amanda Smith, and the entire WWD team for their invaluable contribution to fostering knowledge and appreciation of Italian style worldwide. My final thought is for all beloved youth, the sentinels of the XXI century, to remind them that the soul is always the source of great thoughts’, commented Brunello Cucinelli. https://lnkd.in/dqdZVjuq

Yesterday, at Tongji University in Shanghai, the symposium "Heritage Reimagined" was held, dedicated to the conservation and revitalisation of cultural and architectural heritage. During the event, attended by Professors, students, and experts in architecture and urban planning, Brunello Cucinelli delivered a Lectio Doctoralis on Humanistic Capitalism and the preservation of Solomeo as well as its Genius Loci. The account of the revitalisation of the Umbrian hamlet and its surrounding natural environments provided an opportunity for a fruitful exchange of ideas and experiences with several restoration and urban renewal projects in Shanghai. Brunello Cucinelli commented on the event as follows: ‘This event was an opportunity to listen and also to share our experience of Humanistic Capitalism and Human Sustainability, and how, in its broader vision, it has instilled in us the desire to safeguard the Genius loci; from the restoration of the hamlet nearly 40 years ago to the “Project for Beauty,” through which we sought to recover and preserve the natural heritage that frames Solomeo, as a tribute to humanity and a gift to future generations. I sincerely thank all the esteemed participants for fostering a wonderful day of dialogue and universal friendship, which once again united the hamlet of Solomeo with the Chinese people’.

On 22nd September, in the charming setting of Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Brunello Cucinelli received the prestigious “SFA Visionary Award” during the CNMI Sustainable Fashion Awards 2024. Every year, the Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana honors organizations, individuals and personalities that have gained international prominence for their Sustainable innovation and commitment on craftsmanship, inclusivity, human capital, circular economy and environmental and social impact. Presented with the award by American actress Naomie Harris, Brunello Cucinelli was recognized for his approach to responsible business practices, based on the ethical values of Humanistic Capitalism & Human Sustainability. ‘I am particularly thankful because this award speaks of "vision," a concept that metaphorically defines how everything began when, as a young man, I said to myself: "I don't know what I will do with my life, but I will try to do it for the dignity of the human being." A "vision" that has steadily guided the path of Humanistic Capitalism and Human Sustainability, supporting the foundations of our beloved company. Today, with this recognition, I would like to thank all the people who have shared this "vision" for the future with me over time. My heartfelt congratulations to the esteemed colleagues honored during this beautiful evening, and a special thanks to the Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana, the distinguished jury, and finally, the talented Naomie Harris for accompanying me on stage with spontaneous kindness’, Brunello Cucinelli commented.

Letter of praise to Elderliness “Now comes the evening of my life, and my eyes see the world through the colour of honey, which is the shade light takes on when the sun, falling between the mountains, turns everything to gold. Now everything is more benevolent and available to me, and I myself have become more tolerant and patient than when I was a boy.  A new life is about to begin, one that both fascinates and frightens me; now I feel the need to figure out how to prepare myself for the new, I start thinking about a plan, just as I had learned at school, starting from reflecting on experiences”. Extract from the last thought written by Brunello Cucinelli: “Letter of praise to Elderliness”. Read the full text: https://lnkd.in/dThC_cFt

Gentle Luxury, a symbol of tailored beauty ‘The product of my work is, in important respects, based on luxury, and I have always thought that speaking of luxury means speaking of beauty. As a child, I lived in the countryside and was in constant contact with the purest form of beauty, which is that of Creation; every morning and every evening, I would observe the turning of the seasons that came back year after year, always the same and eternal. I like beauty even if it cannot be explained according to reason, and perhaps precisely because of that: there is some golden dust of madness in it, that of the poets, and how can one not see that truth too is a fruitful product of beauty? Every day I am reminded of the link between beauty and truth and, as Aristotle argued, truth in turn has to do with wonder. From this, the idea of gentle luxury was born in me as the most faithful expression of our idea, of our creations, of our style; for gentleness is one of the greatest factors of happiness, as, I believe, it allows us to follow our good "demon". The ancient Greeks called happiness “eudaimonia” for this reason. So what is gentle luxury? As a concept very close to that of beauty, it is not easy to find an exclusive definition, but I see luxury as a symbol: it appears symbolic to me because it is something that binds us to beauty’. Extract from the last thought written by Brunello Cucinelli: “Gentle luxury, a symbol of tailored beauty”. Read the full text: https://lnkd.in/d9cmSmiR  

Yesterday, Brunello Cucinelli's new website, based on Artificial Intelligence and the fruit of a harmonious blend between Humanism and Technology, was unveiled to the press at the Teatro Piccolo in Milan. The innovative web project, based on the Solomei AI platform and resulting from the union of what human creativity can imagine and the great potential that Artificial Intelligence can offer, was presented by Brunello Cucinelli himself, together with his close friend, architect Massimo de Vico Fallani, and Francesco Bottigliero, Chief of Humanistic Technology at the Solomeo Casa di Moda. In the presence of a large audience of distinguished members of the press from Italy and around the world, as well as several entrepreneur friends, Brunello Cucinelli emphasized that the underlying aim of the project was to engage with a technology capable of bringing out the best qualities of both Artificial and Human Intelligence. Brunello Cucinelli commented: ‘We have been working on this project for almost three years, with a dedicated group of researchers from the fields of mathematics, engineering, art and philosophy. Our hope is that it will harmoniously combine human and artificial intelligence, striking the balance between the ingenuity of the human being and the best of AI. As early as May 2019, we laid the foundations for a shared reflection on the topic with the world's leading AI experts thanks to the “First Symposium on the Soul and Economics of Solomeo”. Last May, we held the second edition of the Symposium, whose highlight was the Honorary Doctorate in Human Sciences awarded by our esteemed University of Perugia to my dear friend Reid Hoffman, a genius in AI. The guiding principle of our work on Humanistic Artificial Intelligence has been and will continue to be the pursuit of a serene and hopeful attitude towards a technology that, I am certain, will bring benefits to all humanity. Our website does away with the constraints of pages and places the human being front and centre, free to discover its content. The innovative Solomei AI platform, which seeks to visually and instantly represent what one is searching for, is the fine fruit of a plant that has its roots in ancient wisdom. My teacher Xenophanes reminds us: “Surely the gods did not reveal all things to mortals from the beginning, but over time, those who seek will find what is better”. I would like our young people, in their time, to confidently seek “what is better”.’

From 23 to 25 May this year, Brunello Cucinelli hosted the second edition of the "Universal Symposium on Soul and Economics in Solomeo", in continuity with the first edition held in May 2019, also in the Umbrian hamlet. The symposium involved a large group of leading international experts in Artificial Intelligence and other fields such as humanism, art, science, and nature and was attended by, among others, Nicholas Thompson (CEO of The Atlantic) who gave invaluable help in organising the Symposium, Laurene Powell Jobs (American philanthropist, founder and president of Emerson Collective), James Manyika (SVP Google Technology and Society), Fei-Fei Li (scientist heading Stanford's Human-Centred Artificial Intelligence Institute), Refik Anadol (world-famous artist), Michael Evans (president of Alibaba), Arvind Krishna (CEO of IBM), Uzodinma Iweala (prominent African writer), Kevin Scott (CTO of Microsoft), Pieter Van der Does (CEO of Adyen), Jacqueline Novogratz (prominent American philanthropist, CEO of Acumen). The guests also included Reid Hoffman, US entrepreneur and investor who on 24 May was awarded an honorary PhD in Human Sciences from the University of Perugia. The three days of the Symposium, which focused once again on deeply exploring the relationship between ethics and Artificial Intelligence, have thus made Solomeo and Perugia the centres of an enlightened system of thought on the positive future that awaits us. This is Brunello Cucinelli's comment: 'The three-day "Second Universal Symposium on Soul and Economics in Solomeo" was a memorable experience. Our beloved hamlet hosted some of the top international experts in AI and other fields such as humanism, art, science and nature, such as Laurene Powell Jobs, who we welcomed as a kind of godmother of the Symposium, and many other esteemed friends including Nicholas Thompson, Reid Hoffman, James Manyika, Fei-Fei Li, Refik Anadol, Michael Evans, Arvind Krishna, Uzodinma Iweala, Kevin Scott, Pieter van der Does and Jacqueline Novogratz. I believe that these days will be remembered forever by all attendees as an experience fostering their human and spiritual growth; and I hope that this Symposium will enlighten those who will read the Charter summarising its contributions. As often reiterated, technological innovation is a blessing from Creation, and if we know how to combine it with humanistic values, I think it will help us to increase the fruitfulness of the expressions of human creative genius.'

In the city that symbolises Italian art and craftsmanship throughout the world, the new Venice Boutique was inaugurated on 14 May with an event attended by numerous guests and friends of the brand. The store is located in the historic Palazzo della Borsa e della Camera di Commercio, on Calle Larga XXII Marzo, one of the most important streets in the city, directly leading to the unique panorama of St Mark's Square and just a few steps away from La Fenice Theatre. The exterior of the building preserves its refined combination of majesty and elegance, with monumental facades richly decorated, while the interior celebrates the Liberty style with frescoes and stuccoes. The materials used in the renovation of the rooms reflect the constant search for simplicity and symmetry, with the aim of creating an effective dialogue between past and present, an extension of the concept of contemporary elegance that inspires the Brunello Cucinelli collections.

Yesterday, in the splendid setting of the Eternal City, Brunello Cucinelli and EssilorLuxottica presented the new designs born from a fruitful and positive collaboration in the pursuit of high and exclusive creativity. The first Brunello Cucinelli Eyewear Collection is the outcome of the ten-year licence agreement signed in 2022, aimed at fostering the culture of beauty as a meeting ground between taste and the highest Italian craftsmanship. The creative teams of Solomeo and Agordo have carried out significant work that strengthens the gracious and fruitful understanding between the two companies, born from the esteem and affinity that bound Brunello Cucinelli and Leonardo Del Vecchio; an amiable and kind friendship, prompting a great and careful research and development work, carried out in complete harmony. Brunello Cucinelli, thanking Francesco Milleri and the entire EssilorLuxottica team, commented as follows: 'Leonardo del Vecchio once confided to me: "Dear Brunello, I don't know if our eyewear is beautiful, although I certainly like it, but rest assured that it is made in the best way in the world"! Yesterday, at the presentation of our new Eyewear Collection, whilst admiring the outcome of such formidable work and harmony with EssilorLuxottica, I was reminded of those words. Leonardo knew how to pass on his enthusiasm to his co-workers, like the highly esteemed friend Francesco Milleri; with his special humanity, Francesco knows how to forge a relationship of mutual respect and amiability between our teams. Plato once said: "Beauty is the splendour of truth", and this is why I hope that the eyewear born from such a heartfelt collaboration will be appreciated for the values of truth and beauty that inspired them; and it fascinates me to think that these values are yet another interpretation of the universal concept of "Gentle Luxury, a symbol of beauty within measure", which pertains to an elegance within boundaries that expresses its conscious and respectful genuineness'. #BrunelloCucinelli #BrunelloCucinelliEyewear

A universal letter to women “For a long time I have wanted to write a letter to women, and I remember that this desire arose on the day my first granddaughter was born. That's when I realised that women have something that we men lack, as we are so entangled in an often vain logic. I write this letter to you, feeling slightly bashful and aware of your very special gift: you women live in deep harmony with nature, and that sublime thing that is love shines in you like the brightest star. I think that it is important and necessary for you to begin to enter history no longer as individuals, but all together, thanks to an intelligence that – besides logics and intuition – is rich in the intelligence of the heart. This is something charming that you share with poets, it is that genius that men can usually only experience in dreams, whereas poets and you women can access it more easily and turn it to creativity. Nature has filled you with gifts, and they are golden gifts that allow you to enter history as you deserve.” Extract from the last thought written by Brunello Cucinelli: “A universal letter to women”. Read the full text: https://lnkd.in/dB3aiK_Q