Sartori leads renewal of Berluti
Print Edition
ALESSANDRO Sartori, who has been overseeing shoemaker Berluti’s expansion into men’s ready-to-wear and bespoke garments since 2011, values exclusivity, craftsmanship and artistic content without losing a contemporary edge.
“Three years ago, I had a very nice conversation with Antoine Arnault (CEO of Berluti) and we shared our ideas about men’s styles that we’ve appreciated before he revealed to me that Berluti was going to be re-branded,” Sartori said. “I was delighted that the legendary shoemaker was going to dress the contemporary man from head to toe.”
Graduated from the Milan Design School and the former artistic director for the Z Zegna line at Ermenegildo Zegna, Sartori has been devoting his skill and creativity toward the development of the emblematic House.
“I found there was something missing in the market and menswear has gradually been losing its soul. When you think about high-end quality you would normally find in classic wear and when you think about innovative designs and techniques, it’s more about fashion, yet we haven’t see a combination of the two,” the Italian designer said.
Sartori said he was very carefully watching the market without making a reference to anyone in order to gain a position where Berluti’s own style is unique.
“What we bring to the menswear world is a stylish, chic approach with a lot of content and secrets behind it. The Berluti man is masculine yet stylish with a cool attitude and artistic soul,” said Sartori, who said his personal aesthetics and style is reflected in the Berluti spirit.
“My design philosophy is eccentric, stylish with a big place for innovative solutions and creativity but starting from a strong tailoring base,” he said. “Tailoring is the essence.”
That means a passion for perfect workmanship. Like Berluti’s founders, Sartori possesses and is possessed by the desire and the gift to create, a desire that has been with him since his earliest years. Originally from Biella, Italy, he adored sharing time with his mother in her atelier.
He has brought to the design team a “tour of Italy,” where all but the bespoke and made-to-measure suiting and shoes are made. He signed up some 17 small ateliers for Berluti production. While a blouson outer might be produced by one, its lining may be made by another, while the pocket and buttons by a third or fourth atelier.
“I don’t want people in the middle between designers and tailors. My designers go to our ateliers to show the sketches, colors, materials and communicating ideas to the master tailors for the end products that are impeccably made with top notch craftsmanship,” Sartori said.
“We need to deliver according to the fashion calendar but I prefer designing with a storyboard, a strong base. I want to think about a wardrobe that works with both old and new clothes.”
From pattern-cutting to the finishing of a buttonhole, no detail escapes his eye. For Berluti, he creates collections that blend rigorous control with fantasy, a distillation of the soul and spirit of the House.
“We need to grow steadily and keep that certain exclusivity,” Sartori said. “The idea of the exhibition of Berluti’s ‘Made-to-Measure Heritage’ at Plaza 66 until March 23 was to show the story of the house, different steps of what Berluti has been involved, and Berluti’s high-level of expertise and savoir-faire in custom boot making and tailoring.’’
Today the master tailors place their talent and virtuosity at the service of Berluti’s excellence and expertise. “I consider bespoke as the ultimate stage without being old and boring. Berluti is the only brand in the world offering the complete bespoke wardrobe,” said Sartori, adding that even jeans, trench coats and field jackets are now on the made-to-measure menu.
Sartori sees it as breaking down the barriers of the bespoke world, which has always been concerned for too long with the classic suit.
Last year, Berluti expanded its network of stores, including maisons in Paris, London, Shanghai and Tokyo and soon New York. Bespoke services are offered from Paris for overseas appointments in selected flagships.
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