Demonstrative dressing during menswear weeks usually means sidewalk mourning for Phil Oh. At Brioni today, Norbert Stumpfl brought the performance inside, punctuating the label’s usual mannequin-clad presentation with an energetic performance by about a dozen dancers from various companies. The aim was to demonstrate that Stumpfl’s pieces (uniquely put together by Brioni’s Penn-based tailors and craftsmen) are as intensely free-flowing as they are intensely beautiful. it worked. Handstands, high kicks, forward rolls and other contortions that might have attracted most viewers left these fall menswear looks (as well as some spring women’s counterparts) completely untouched. Stumpfl said: “I wanted to show the lightness of the clothes and the movement in them. It’s a fashion show of sorts, but it’s also something else. These people are highly trained individuals. In that, he is like Brioni’s tailor. “It takes a lot of time for them to master their craft.”
To the credit of Brioni’s owner Kering, Stumpfl has also been given time. He joined in 2018, after a relatively turbulent period. In addition to gradually introducing womenswear (there will be a presentation in Milan next month), he has reinvented Brioni by gently refreshing its tailoring soul while expanding its casual offering to practicality. Today was the latest step in one of contemporary luxury’s most quietly choreographed brand evolutions. Deerskin sneakers were presented in a variety of top-to-bottom tonal combinations, featuring suede shirting and double split construction in a Southern take on silk mix tailoring (somehow both fitted and roomy). Outerwear includes membrane-waterproofs with detachable cashmere lining in mohair/silk/wool blends, alpaca-lined parkas, deerskin/crocodile bombers, and several extremely soft and attractive peak-lapel overcoats in plain or gently patterned cashmere. Field jacket included. The season’s cardigan comeback picks up pace.
The mostly tonal mood continued in the evening wear: a particularly impressive example was a shawl collar silk tuxedo in a light lavender hue with matching shirt and pocket square. It recalled Brioni’s post-war origins, when it injected pizzazz into tailoring by offering the hyper-confident American market silhouettes that were roughly as powerful as the shoulders. Stumpfl noted that he and his design team were recently invited to spend time at the home of Gigliola Savini Perone, the daughter of Brioni’s charismatic co-founder Gaetano Savini. “He gave us his father’s vision,” he said. The high-collared, double-breasted jackets here were a tribute to that heritage, but also pieces you could see dancing in a contemporary wardrobe. Were.
