Brunello Cucinelli, fashion’s philosopher designer, has issued a Letter to a Beautiful Soul, a heartful request that people start listening to each other again.
Cucinelli sent the letter to a select few friends this weekend, right before coming to Pitti, fashion’s most important trade show, staged twice a year in Florence.
Brunello Cucinelli, the philosopher designer has penned a Letter to a Beautiful Soul – Brunello Cucinelli
“It’s about time we all started talking to each other again. What do most parent do today? They get on the iPhone as soon as they come home, and tell their children, ‘Oh, I’ve just a quick email to send.’ And the kids reply, ‘let me just finish this game please,’ as they look at their phones too!” lamented Cucinelli.
Hence, Brunello, whose company village Solomeo in the central Italian region of Umbria is dotted with scores of plaques quoting the likes of Socrates, Kant and Chaucer, did not write his letter on a laptop or iPhone. But confessed: “I write everything by hand, including this letter.”
The missive comes at a very good time for Brunello, whose company just announced a 12% increase in sales to €1.28. billion last year. Feting his latest success on Tuesday night with a gala dinner in Renaissance jewel Palazzo Corsini on the city’s river Arno. Where, in time honored tradition, he stirred an enormous copper vat of paccheri pasta with his favorite tomato sauce, impressively avoiding splattering his pristine red chalk stripe blazer.
“O beautiful soul, in this serene evening, in my beloved Solomeo hamlet, where. silence, safeguarded by memory, reigns as king, and thought is unshackled from words, I wish to think of you and dedicate my heart to you. Beautiful soul, in whom are reflected all the beautiful souls of Creation, all those whom a benevolent destiny has allowed me to encounter for the joy of my life, you are graceful because you cherish the hope that leads us towards a new time,” opens the letter, before Cucinelli cautions we are entering a new era, or tempus novum.
“The tempus novum already emerges, like the dawn of the joyous future that awaits us, as day by day, year by year, century by century, it enriches memory with the wisdom of nameless generations. O beautiful soul, in the hope of the new time, I delight in glimpsing the shoots of a youth undiminished by years, eternally renewing itself, and ensuring the perpetual beauty of nature — that nature which the Enlightenment thinkers deemed divine. And you alone, in the vastness conferred upon you by Plato, are perhaps she who allows us to discern the delicate balance between the future and the past,” argues Cucinelli, who despite being 71 still plays for his own local football team.
He is such a fan of football, Brunello flew to the UK recently to see Liverpool defeat Real Madrid in the Champion’s League. As a guest of Tom Werner, Liverpool FC chairman, and the latest billionaire to be seduced by Cucinelli’s breezy elegance.
“Let us remember that we are all brothers and sisters; we should listen more frequently to the hope that dwells within the soul. This letter, then —this humble praise that I dedicate to you, O beautiful soul — arises from the sentiment that stirs within me when I reflect on all those souls who long to reclaim happiness, and who. shall rediscover, in the eyes and words of those who know how to listen, a renewed trust in the tempus novum. This is the wish I make with all my heart,” concludes the letter.
With cost remaining a decisive factor for consumers, M&S said Friday (January 31) it’s continuing to cut prices of over 300 “family favourite” products with kidswear the latest target.
M&S
The high street retailer said it “re-affirms its commitment to delivering trusted value and everyday low prices on the products that matter most to its 32 million customers”.
The latest cuts include an up to 20% price reduction on over 100 products from its ‘everyday essentials’ Kidswear range.
Key pieces include its Cotton Rich Hoodie and Joggers as well as range of Sweatshirts, Leggings and T-Shirts which now start from £5.50, with the retailer saying the reduction in price will not compromise on the “quality or high sourcing standards it is known for”.
Alexandra Dimitriu, Kidswear director, Clothing & Home, said: “Now more than ever, customers are looking for trusted value. When it comes to clothing, we know value is more than just the product’s price – they also want confidence that it is made well and made to last and offers versatility.”
M&S reported positive figures for its festive trading period with total group sales increasing 5.6% to £4.064 billion, but much of the strength was concentrated in the Food area with Clothing, Home & Beauty, rising just 1% to £1.305 billion, with like-for-like sales rising ahead of the market at 1.9% as underlying sales grew 2.6%.
Burberry announced a key appointment on Friday with the luxury business saying it will soon have a new chief information officer.
Charlotte Baldwin
It has appointed Charlotte Baldwin to the role and she’ll join the business at the end of March. Baldwin will be responsible for leading Burberry’s global technology team and will join the executive committee. She’ll report directly to Burberry CEO Joshua Schulman.
He described her as “a highly experienced technology and digital leader with a track record of leading large-scale digital transformation”.
She hasn’t previously worked in the luxury fashion sector but has wide-ranging experience across some major-name businesses in Britain.
She’s currently the global chief digital and information officer at coffee chain Costa Coffee where she oversees the company’s technology, digital and data organisation.
Prior to joining that firm, she was the chief information, digital and transformation officer at private healthcare giant Bupa’s Bupa Insurance unit. She’s also held senior roles at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Pearson and Thomson Reuters.
Burberry has been navigating a tough period of late and Schulman joined in the top job last year, tweaking the firm’s strategy. His approach seems to be paying off with the company last week porting improved results, although the turnaround is still undeniable a work in progress.
Another day, another shopping centre delivering a “record-breaking” performance in 2024. This time it’s Gloucester Quays “capping off another year of considerable growth”, for the owner/operator Peel Retail & Leisure.
That included record Christmas trading at the key Gloucester mall, which helped overall sales for the year finish 6.7% ahead of the national average. Across November and December, retail sales grew 3.6% compared with 2023.
Looking at 2024 in total, an overall 7.4% year-on-year sales increase across its tenants was split between 6.1% for retail, and 8.5% for F&B.
But there was also double-digit growth from leading fashion, homewares, and outerwear brands including Next, Skechers, All Saints, Mountain Warehouse, Puma, Crew Clothing and Suit Direct.
It said sustained growth was seen across all categories “points to the increasing relevance of the Gloucester Quays experience”.
Paul Carter, asset director at Peel Retail & Leisure, added: “There have been various headlines this month about how challenged retail was around Christmas, so to have Gloucester Quays performing so well is a real credit to our team and our brands.
“These results also serve as a reminder of how relevant and in demand this outlet is. We have experienced consistent growth for several years, and that success can be put down to the quality of our offer and waterside environment. There is no doubt our catchment is responding to how we have evolved Gloucester Quays, as an urban outlet that combines a compelling shopping environment with dining and leisure to fit all tastes and needs, benefitting from a heritage waterside setting that few regionally can match.”
Entertainment8 years ago