BERLUTI fall 2021

Here’s the thing about Berluti, from the start, it went from somewhat boring business like to slick, chic and excessively rich looking for men who truly appreciated timeless but fashionable clothes. Alessandro Sartori, in my opinion was the one who set the tone and held it tightly but always finding a way for the collection to morph and evolve. Haider’s reign was short and a bit more forgettable, if not a mismatch, but now we have Kris Van Assche who has jolted the collection in a way that is disturbing...at least on first glance!

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The tailoring is there, the fine line between evolution and revolution is there but that seems to happen because of the styling and not the clothes. For instance, look at the shoes, look at the bucket hats, look at the combination of pieces and those fashion nuances such as ankle gripping pants and high-water hems, draping hems and the color palette!

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I see this as a collection of pieces and not a collection to be worn as shown. Despite the blah blah blah, there are some beautiful pieces that retain the original DNA of the brand that can be worn with any of the pieces that came from 9 years of Berluti.

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No, I don’t harbor any illusions that this could ever be a mass appeal brand firstly because of its price and then secondly for all the reasons listed above but it holds my eye and makes me wonder about the direction that Van Assche will take.

Berluti spring 2019

Alessandro Sartori, Haider Ackermann and now Kris Van Assche holds the reins for Berluti. So now you can see the demise of what was once a wildly sophisticated and soigné collection leaning on the classics to a more trendy mood when Haider came upon the scene and now you see what happens when trend and slick fly out the window when a designer thinks his client is 20 something and not 30, 40 or 50 something or more.

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High water pants, buttock clinging tailoring, logo tee shirts, bombers, track suits and leather jeans suddenly come under the awning of one of the more expensive collections once known as a go to resource for some of the most wildly expensive and innovative footwear. In place of that you have Frankenstein leaden shoes or Adidas knock offs and shoes aimed mainly at the trendoid crowd. Since price tags don’t hang off the clothes or shoes why bother? 

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There is nothing boastful or new about any of it except of course that they are impeccably made so you can carry a sign that says these shoes cost 1200 or maybe 2200 dollars because they are Berluti even though they look like they came from Footlocker or Payless and the same goes for the clothes except the stores would be H&M or Zara. **please take note of the absurd range of accessories such as the ombré croco briefcase that atches a sweater to the Peter Berlin cap ( google it) or the droopy deep vee tunic.

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Apparently gentlemen of taste and substance are getting their menu for tastefully slick and well-tailored apparel trimmed down to a scant few resources. Dior men's is head and shoulders above this and will no doubt be gaining an audience because of this cavalcade of no taste.

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Yes, the world of fashion is changing but it hasn’t changed that much that there is a clown bus on every corner and some fool willing to pay 1000s to be stared at like a circus freak rather than being ogled at for being well groomed and impeccably turned out.

Berluti fall men's 2018

Maximizing minimal.. here is yet one more side of Ackermann.. 

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The pared down razor sharp ageless totally unadorned menswear for those who seek quality and esthetic over trend and so called of the moment fashion. 

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These clothes truly exude an attitude of confidence and inherent good taste. Urbane slick and right to the point… you either love it or you don’t and even better if you can afford it! 

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Even the color palette has a refinement that some will find ho hum and others will drool at the prospect of …  regardless of the casting, the clothes can be worn by a reasonably universal audience of men. 

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Haider Ackermann FALL 218 MENS

When Ackermann started not so long ago I was thoroughly enraptured by what he was doing… there was this lush layering ... these exquisite color combinations and a sort of sprezzatura and manly sexiness that was surely out of the ordinary for a French collection. Yes, it was always about the tailoring but there was also this amazing softness but with an edge … if that makes any sense.

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Then came the hype, then came the trend chasing and now there are only traces and a sort of mutated DNA that doesn’t quite come across the same way. Some may say evolved but I say that the collection, while still somewhat beautiful, has sacrificed its original DNA to excessive styling and what’s hot and almost looks as if it’s trying too hard to be cool

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I honestly believe this guy has way more than he is putting out there as well as an abundance of talent that is missing from so many of this new so called breed of designer. 

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Like it yes, love it, no... Disenchanted … yes!

Haider Ackermann PFW spring 2018

What is most striking here is the razor sharp precise silhouettes. It is an exercise in tailoring and a study in color as well as fabrication. The tailoring is the star and even the softer pieces have an indiscernible edge to them... there is no flou here!

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If you are paying attention there is a very limited amount of body con styles but Ackermann chose to expand the limited vocabulary by offering color variations which either softened or hardened the shapes. The clothes are minimal without being boring and yet luxe without being embellished or decorous. 

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In many ways this is the antithesis of how he started with those exquisitely lush wrapped waists and bodies in the most sumptuous of fabrications. In essence this is lean and mean Haider. I see echoes of Mugler present and possibly a much sharpened harsher version of possibly Jil Sander or Armani but with a smidgeon of Cardin thrown in. 

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Without question he is a designer’s designer with an appeal to those who have a more rarefied view of fashion especially in today’s climate of designer fashion.