Brioni Spring Summer 2015

The house’s rich archives continue to inspire Creative Director Brendan Mullane, whose collection takes its cue from Brioni’s American style conquests in the 1950s. Old photos of Hollywood icons such as Richard Burton, Henry Fonda and Cary Grant, snapped during Brioni fittings, sparked the connection with Los Angeles, the pulsating heart of the entertainment industry and a fertile hub for art, culture and media.

At the time, Brioni made headlines with its “Columnar Look,” a statuesquely elongated silhouette featuring tapered trousers that went against mainstream men’s fashion.  A look reinvented to  precisely-tailored modern effect,  counterpointed by a new silhouette featuring clean boxy tops or jacket over soft wide pants, a sensual elegance that is constructed but never constrictive.

Los Angeles, a city that from dawn to dusk is soaked in a saturated warm light, casts its rays over Brioni’s sartorial tradition and Italian heritage, setting off an exuberant yet sophisticated color palette of beetroot red, ocean and Capri blues, palm and mint greens, carnation red, turquoise and light blue.

Shades that blossom to artistic glory thanks to the collaboration between Brioni and L.A-based artist James Welling, whose signature floral patterns were elaborately revisited, studied and meticulously transposed onto Brioni cashmere/silk suits, tissue-thin silk shirts and zipped blousons, in both bright accents or painterly nuances. True bespoke artworks that further display Brioni’s and Brendan Mullane’s long-standing quest to innovate and experiment.

Sports jackets, varsity-inspired styles, fitted knitted polo shirts , cropped pants and Bermuda shorts are mixed-and-matched to create strong combinations of contrasting patterns. Super lightweight parachute silks, traditional Prince-of- Wales checks, houndstooth plaids and herringbone weaves are either over-dyed with bold colors or feature hand overstitched checkered motifs that add a 3D texture.

The looks are rounded out by an array of roomy bags in combinations of hand-woven double silk jacquards, suede and calfskin where the added value is once again a houndstooth overstitch while the footwear front is ruled by cross-over sandals, fringed or tasseled loafers and light-weight double-monk shoes with a Good Year construction and wedged hand-sculpted microfiber inner sole.

At the presentation,  the American artist Collier Schorr captures the stolen moments of the Brioni man’s life, which serve as an ethereal backdrop for the floating real life models. A podium inspired by a case study house movement, with a sweeping view of the sunset, brings Brioni’s Los Angeles dream to life.