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\t\t\t\t\tSaul Nanni plays a young Cucinelli in \u201cBrunello: the Gracious Visionary.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of Stefano Schirato<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n\tCucinelli loved \u201cEnnio\u201d and wanted his film to be made by a \u201cpoet,\u201d but Tornatore was reluctant. \u201cIt was very difficult to wrap my head around his request,\u201d the director told journalists at a December press conference in Rome. Cucinelli wouldn\u2019t take no for an answer. \u201cHe insisted, as only he can do \u2014 he insists a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tIt also helped that Cucinelli didn\u2019t give Tornatore any financial constraints. The film ended up costing $17 million and was mostly self-financed, save for roughly $4.7 million in Italian tax film credit support received by executive producer MasiFilm. <\/p>\n
\n\tCucinelli had hoped to share his life story while he was still around to see its ripple effects. \u201cThese documentaries are made after people have died. Some of the ones I\u2019ve seen are of people that I have known \u2014 I don\u2019t like them very much,\u201d Cucinelli explains. \u201cThey are not as profound as the value of the human being.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cThe Gracious Visionary\u201d opened in Italy on Dec. 9 and has done brisk business at the box office, scoring more than $1 million during its limited seven-day run. Other release dates have not yet been set \u2014 Cucinelli says he is aiming for the end of February in the U.S. \u2014 but the film\u2019s posters adorn the windows of every Cucinelli store. It\u2019s undoubtedly a love letter to Cucinelli himself, and when it\u2019s released worldwide it will also serve as an extension of his brand \u2014 his life philosophy wrapped up in the luxury coats and sweaters that got him this far.<\/p>\n
\n\n\tIt\u2019s easy to see why Star was so charmed by Solomeo. Situated atop a sun-soaked hill, the medieval village is anchored by a 14th-century castle \u2014 which now houses the brand\u2019s tailoring workshop and signature boutique \u2014 known to be frequented by celebrities like Paltrow (who vacations at the nearby Castello de Reschio). Peppered throughout the village are busts and plaques bearing quotes from Cucinelli\u2019s favorite minds, from Mahatma Gandhi to Leonardo da Vinci. From the village\u2019s small parking lot, one can see the vineyards where Cucinelli produces his own wine, a community soccer field \u2014 and, of course, the Cucinelli headquarters.<\/p>\n
\n\tDown on the ecru-colored campus, the office is clean and bright, with Renaissance art adorning the walls. At 1 p.m. daily, employees enjoy a meal together in the wood-beamed dining hall \u2014 antipasti, pasta al pomodoro, wine and dessert. And at 5:30 p.m., the lights in the main office turn off. Overtime is forbidden.<\/p>\n
\n\tMuch of the designer\u2019s work ethic and philosophy can be traced to his late father, and Cucinelli was honored by the nods to him in \u201cEmily in Paris.\u201d The fictional brand bears his father\u2019s first name, Umberto, and the surname Muratori evokes the Italian word for mason, \u201cmuratore.\u201d Though his father was a farmer in the Umbrian hamlet of Castel Rigone, where Cucinelli was born in 1953, in his teenage years the family moved to the Ferro di Cavallo neighborhood of nearby Perugia, where his dad began working in a cement factory to provide a better life. This represented a major sacrifice.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cHe would never complain about his wages or the fact that it was cold in the factory; what he did complain about was that he was being belittled,\u201d Cucinelli says wistfully. \u201cThat really killed me. \u2026 You see, human beings need dignity even more than they need bread.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tCucinelli founded his company in 1978 at the age of 25 after finding success dyeing cashmere in bright colors at a time when that hardly existed, especially for women. He barely had any experience in fashion and didn\u2019t go to university; instead he credits his business savvy to the card-playing skills taught to him by his grandfather, the philosophy he learned in his local bar as a young man and the stylistic eye of his wife, Federica Benda, who already had her own boutique when he was just getting started.<\/p>\n
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\t\t\t\t\tCucinelli with his family in Solomeo, Italy<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of Brunello Cucinelli<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n\tEven as the company grew, his values stayed the same. Cucinelli considers his employees not just workers but \u201cthinking souls,\u201d and they earn about 20% more than the average Italian manufacturing or industrial wage. If one employee offends another, they are fired on the spot. After relocating to Solomeo in the 1980s, Cucinelli gradually expanded, broadening the company\u2019s product line from sweaters to full pr\u00eat-\u00e0-porter and veering into menswear, a sphere in which he started to \u201cbecome the new Armani,\u201d notes Alex Badia, style director at Women\u2019s Wear Daily.<\/p>\n
\n\tSince going public in 2012, Brunello Cucinelli S.p.A. has consistently shown year-on-year revenue growth averaging in the double digits, with recent forecasts pointing to 10%-12% growth for 2025 and 10% for 2026. This is exceptional at a time when many established luxury conglomerates \u2014 such as Kering and LVMH \u2014 are hurting.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cHe came from nothing, and it\u2019s really remarkable what he\u2019s done,\u201d says Badia, who has covered Cucinelli for more than a decade. \u201cIf I had to invest, I would invest in Brunello Cucinelli, because I see that the future is bright.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tMore recently, Cucinelli\u2019s daughters, Camilla and Carolina, have placed a renewed emphasis on women\u2019s wear. This is now 50% of the company\u2019s output, which Badia says is \u201cwhere the growth potential is.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tThat\u2019s also where Hollywood comes into play. More than ever, celebrities are the ones moving fashion products, cutting through the clutter in an oversaturated media environment.<\/p>\n
\n\tIn his Solomeo office, a corner of the room is set up like a shrine to the stars who have worked with Cucinelli. It all started when Prince William wore a Cucinelli sweater in his official engagement photos with Kate Middleton in 2010 \u2014 their picture is smack-dab in the center of one wall. Surrounding the royals are photographs of some of the biggest names in Hollywood: Paltrow, DiCaprio, Julia Roberts, Daniel Craig, Angelina Jolie, George Clooney. From April to October, his assistant says, the office is inundated with requests from the rich and famous wanting the full Cucinelli experience, which often includes a tour of the facilities and lunch in the dining hall. <\/p>\n
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\t\t\t\t\tThe designer in the cellar of his winery, Castello di Solomeo<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOK McCausland for Variety<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n\tDuring our walk-through, we bump into Cucinelli on his way to a meeting. He\u2019s not fluent in English \u2014 though he is taking classes \u2014 but his greeting is communicated with a pat on the elbow and a cheerful smile. Through a translator, he offers us coffee before heading to the workshop to proof the brand\u2019s latest couture creations \u2014 heavy knit dresses with sequins hand-sewn onto the cashmere. Each dress weighs three pounds and is the result of more than 60 hours of work. <\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cYou go to see him, and instantly he treats you like you\u2019re part of a family,\u201d Badia says. \u201cHe offers you coffee. He feeds you \u2014 he\u2019s bringing mozzarella, pasta al pomodoro. Even his physicality, the way he approaches you, is so disarming. And he enchants celebrities.\u201d Cucinelli underlines that the brand does not \u201csponsor anyone\u201d to wear its clothes \u2014 it\u2019s all organic. \u201cSo if Gwyneth or Angelina opt for one of our dresses, it\u2019s their choice,\u201d he says. \u201cWe don\u2019t pay them to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tJust like the late Armani, Cucinelli personally dresses movie stars \u2014 including Robert De Niro, who he recounts does not like the label\u2019s signature style of trousers that taper below the knee to an abbreviated cuff.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWhat are these fucking short pants?!\u201d Cucinelli recalls De Niro saying in Italian at a recent fitting.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI made them a bit longer for him,\u201d Cucinelli says, chuckling at the memory. \u201cBut not full-length.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\t\t\t\t\tA view of the vineyard<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOK McCausland for Variety<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n\tOutside Solomeo, Cucinelli regularly hosts star-studded events at Los Angeles\u2019 Chateau Marmont, celebrating his humanist ideals with guests like Chris Pine, Jennifer Lopez, Jon Hamm, Ava DuVernay and Sharon Stone \u2014 \u201cwho will only come if she gets to sit next to me,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
\n\tCucinelli has also been hobnobbing with Silicon Valley, starting with Zuckerberg, whom he\u2019s been outfitting in $400 custom gray T-shirts. In 2017, Cucinelli appeared at Dreamforce, Salesforce\u2019s annual conference, where he took the stage for a fireside chat with founder Marc Benioff, who sported a Cucinelli pin-striped suit.<\/p>\n
\n\tThough it would seem that technology \u2014 especially the advent of artificial intelligence \u2014directly opposes Cucinelli\u2019s humanist philosophy, he\u2019s learning to embrace it. When asked his thoughts on the threat of AI taking away so many human jobs, Cucinelli declares: \u201cI love AI!\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cLet me show you something,\u201d he adds, rising from his seat and striding across the room. Amid dozens of framed news clips documenting the ascent of the Cucinelli brand is a manifesto on AI, signed and dated in roman numerals.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWill it substitute human intelligence? Never,\u201d Cucinelli reads from the document. \u201cAI is born from reason; it cannot include any folly. But creativity is born from folly. Therefore, AI cannot create.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tThe brand has started to employ AI-powered smart boards to aid with quality control \u2014 particularly in finding flaws in the hand-knit cashmere \u2014 but Cucinelli is firm that it will never replace human work.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI think that technology is a blessing from creation, but risks losing the soul that we have,\u201d he says. \u201cWe need to strike that balance again.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tSitting with Cucinelli is like conferring with a living history book. He casually quotes philosophers \u2014 Rousseau, Marcus Aurelius, Socrates \u2014 and speaks in riddles as if he\u2019s one himself. A theme that resonates throughout our conversation, and a message Cucinelli hopes viewers take from his film, is that there needs to be a new kind of revolution to take the world back to humanistic ideals.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cThere is a very strong malaise in everybody\u2019s soul,\u201d he says. \u201cWe have now reached a very high level of harshness in how we express ourselves \u2014 in politics, in daily life, in work, in family.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\t\t\t\t\tPremiere of Brunello Cucinelli documentary<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of Brunello Cucinelli\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n\tPart of this revolution, he says, should be returning to villages as opposed to dwelling in bustling cities. Though he often travels for work \u2014 Cucinelli has just returned from Korea and Japan \u2014 he is most at home in nature. Our photo shoot takes place in his vineyards, and Cucinelli makes the short drive there himself behind the wheel of a muddied silver Rolls-Royce. Outfitted in clothes from his latest collection, he stops to say hello to a snail making its way up a statue before expertly posing among the trellises. He picks a wrinkled red grape off the vine and pops it in his mouth with a mischievous smile, urging us to do the same. Later, he insists we try the mosto, grape juice from the September harvest that is fermenting in oak barrels in the cellar.<\/p>\n
\n\tThough his philosophy may seem at odds with the fast-paced nature of Hollywood, it\u2019s easy to see why the famous and wealthy have been seduced by Cucinelli\u2019s way of life. It\u2019s slow and simple, focused on enjoying the little moments and giving back where possible. When celebrities like Paltrow come to visit, Cucinelli says, they spend time in the garden and pick tomatoes for that night\u2019s feast.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cThere\u2019s no stardom there,\u201d he says. \u201cJust normality.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\n\tCucinelli may have been reluctant to make the trip to Rome for \u201cEmily in Paris,\u201d but on Dec. 4 he had a premiere of his own to host.<\/p>\n
\n\tHeld at Cinecitt\u00e0 Studios, just steps away from the re-created Colosseum, the debut of \u201cBrunello: The Gracious Visionary\u201d could have been mistaken for that of an A-list Hollywood production. Jonathan Bailey, fresh off his People Sexiest Man Alive honor, giggled with Jeff Goldblum in a \u201cWicked\u201d reunion. Jessica Chastain wore a custom Cucinelli gown dripping in diamond accents and talked shop with DuVernay. Pine, \u00c9dgar Ram\u00edrez and Kyle MacLachlan looked sharp in the brand\u2019s signature double-breasted suits, and Ram\u00edrez told Variety on the beige carpet that wearing Cucinelli \u201cmakes me feel like my family is with me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI\u2019m clad by legacy, by family values, by tradition, by subtle, timeless elegance, and that to me is very important,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cThe brand stands for something,\u201d DuVernay said. \u201cI think about family, about advocacy for the land, something that goes beyond just aesthetics.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\t\t\t\t\tPart of Cucinelli\u2019s extensive library<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOK McCausland for Variety<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n\tAfter the screening, hundreds of candles led guests through the ancient Rome set to a dinner space surrounded by 100,000 of Cucinelli\u2019s favorite books. As attendees enjoyed rigatoni al pomodoro, Goldblum and Pine told Cucinelli how touched they were by the film.<\/p>\n
\n\tCucinelli was elated by the response. \u201cI didn\u2019t sleep for quite a few nights. I\u2019m still a bit going gaga,\u201d he says over Zoom two weeks later.<\/p>\n
\n\tBesides telling his story and touting his brand, for Cucinelli \u201cThe Gracious Visionary\u201d is all about legacy. Perhaps that\u2019s why he decided to make the film while he\u2019s still around to see it.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI want to promote the culture of our company,\u201d he says. \u201cBut it is also a time when I believe that a human revolution can start. And I want to be there.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source variety.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In September 2024, Brunello Cucinelli received a surprising invitation. \u201cEmily in Paris\u201d creator Darren Star requested the fashion mogul\u2019s presence at the Rome premiere of the Netflix hit\u2019s fourth season. And frankly, Cucinelli was confused. Though he\u2019s used to being invited to VIP gatherings \u2014 from fashion shows to meetings with presidents and kings \u2014 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2228204,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25173],"tags":[350464,350426,350465,22958],"class_list":["post-2228203","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-artists","tag-brunello-cucinelli","tag-emily-in-paris","tag-giuseppe-tornatore","tag-oprah-winfrey"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Brunello-Cucinelli-on-Doc-Gracious-Visionary-Emily-in-Paris-Hollywood.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2228203","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2228203"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2228203\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2228205,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2228203\/revisions\/2228205"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2228204"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2228203"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2228203"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2228203"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}