Luxury Italian family brand, BRUNELLO CUCINELLI, known for its beautiful knitwear as well as its soft like butter leathers has opened its doors, for women’s, men’s and kids wear, in a new beautiful store based in the exclusive New Bond Street, London.
Located on one of the most historically important streets in the world in terms of fashion, culture and the arts, the building that houses the new Brunello Cucinelli destination in London has a fascinating history. The palace was built in 1876 to house the Grosvenor Gallery, one of the most important art galleries of the Victorian era, and, since then, it has represented a synthesis of art, music and culture for over one hundred and fifty years. This building stirs powerful emotions in us and recalling the words of John Ruskin in his The Seven Lamps of Architecture, we feel that its glory lies in its age and in its mysterious partaking in the many events it has witnessed in human history. This building was also a frequent destination for Oscar Wilde, who mentions it in his enchanting novel The Portrait of Dorian Gray.
Inside there are two floors that welcome customers and visitors into a cosy and relaxed ambience, among traditional furniture and materials in natural colours that characterize the concept of the brand: natural stone, chestnut wood and soft plastered walls are matched with the contemporary feel of metal. The ground floor is devoted to the men’s collection and a large natural stone staircase leads to the first floor and the women’s and kids wear collection: ready-to-wear, knitwear, footwear, bags and accessories are displayed in airy and light-filled spaces, arranged around a comfortable inner cafe inspired by the Italian kitchen, with traditional furniture and objects designed according to contemporary taste.
In a corner, framed by large windows overlooking New Bond Street, a grand piano takes us back to the time when this building lived together with its music, and ideally connects the life and philosophy of the boutique to those of the places that – in the Forum of the Arts – embellish Solomeo, Hamlet of the Spirit. There is also a library, a bit of a special space for us. It is not a big library, but the books it contains, classics of philosophy and humanism of all times, have been chosen in keeping with the words of Ruskin, who in his Sesame and Lilies, hoping for the establishment of many libraries across the world, stated: “They will be chosen books, the best, by genre, displayed in the best possible way. […] They will be pleasant, easy-to-handle, beautiful, robust volumes, so as to become examples of good binding”.
What a lovely time to congratulate the opening of a new store!