FALL/WINTER 2022 COLLECTION: THE ALLEGORY OF AIR
For Fall/Winter 2022, the house of Brioni is proud to present a collection of supremely crafted menswear in which modernity and tradition are combined. As ever, what remains paramount is Brioni’s core purpose: to create clothing of unparalleled lightness and comfort whose beauty is timeless. Norbert Stumpfl, Brioni Design Director, pursues that purpose by applying progressive design to artisanal know-how, articulated through unmatched fabrics and materials. His inspiration is drawn from the city in which Brioni was born: Rome.
Stumpfl says: ‘Reflecting the wider world around us, we continue to explore the territory shared between two once-divided menswear universes – the formal and casual. This collection was specifically inspired by Breughel the Elder’s painting Allegory of Air, which hangs here in Rome’s Galleria Doria Pamphilj. As well as the beautiful spectrum of colour, whose palette infuses this collection, we were inspired by the dynamism and lightness Breughel expressed as he worked to capture the image of air – something that is both intangible yet essential.’ ‘That spirit of movement, freedom and volume enriches a collection that has been created in order to convey unparalleled ease and pleasure for its wearer. In sync with that spirit, this season also, we are expanding our universe towards a female client, presenting a capsule of six looks that are developed from the menswear and cut for the female form.’
Both exclusive and inclusive – and featuring pieces fashioned from unused archive materials – the Fall/ Winter 2022 collection expands Brioni’s vision of urban elegance. The enduring architecture of the tailored masculine facade remains largely in place, yet is stripped of any constricting rigidity: new construction techniques and refined materials combine to shape a fresh urban elegance whose visible simplicity belies the sophistication of the techniques used to construct it.
To create substance in the absence of weight, texture becomes paramount. Generously volumed outerwear is cut in “furry” effect alpaca and Prince of Wales cashmere and ultrafine 180 wool. A supremely luxurious overcoat and jacket in black vicuna with hand-painted leather buttons, or a crocodile bibbed workwear shirt with cashmere sleeves and back represent the apex of Brioni’s material expertise.
Hybrid knit midlayers mix repurposed suiting wool fronts drawn from Brioni archives with seamlessly knit sleeves and backs – all lined in a slim strata of goose down. A shearling lined technical parka is also partially fashioned from newly revived archive fabric. Cashmere overshirts – a key garment in the new intersection of formal and casual – are presented in an expanded range of colours.
Suiting is subtly deformalised, both through the addition of discreetly applied elastication in trouser waistbands and the vastly reduced canvassing in shoulders. Hybridised tailoring sees a midnight blue reversed-revere jacket teamed with matching trousers. Deconstructed suiting options include a “workwear suit” comprising an ultralight cashmere herringbone field jacket and trouser, and a “jogging suit” pairing a half-button rugby shirt and trouser in grey herringbone double-faced cashmere/cotton. The pediment of footwear is simultaneously substantial and lightweight, predominantly defined by welted boots in elkskin and crocodile.
Colour choices are confident in their restraint – beige, brown, grey, black and white – either mono or two-tone. Lapis lazuli blue is presented as one striking colour story in daywear via a double breasted Virgilio suit in super 210 wool, a double breasted high-closure overcoat in double faced cashmere, and a seasonal cashmere overshirt. For evening wear, special pieces include silk satin tuxedo jackets and shirts in emerald green and vicuna brown, and an ultra-light ribbed silk faille black and white jacket broken against chocolate brown silk satin trousers and black patent leather shoes.
The crescendo of the collection defines Brioni’s exploration of sophistication through simplicity. Almost – if not quite – as light as air, a grey, soft-shouldered double breasted Amalfi jacket with matching elasticated-waist trouser in 100 per cent cashmere is the one- look essence of a collection that draws on the forever to shape the now. The ultimate aim? Enlightening menswear that empowers the wearer to transmit a timeless urban elegance while enjoying peerless ease and comfort.