Brunello Cucinelli
Brunello Cucinelli is an Italian fashion house, specialized in colored cashmere, founded in 1978 by the homonymous entrepreneur.
Index
- The Solomeo headquarter
- The Foundation and the humanistic capitalism
- Awards
- The development of the Brunello Cucinelli company
The Solomeo headquarter
Brunello Cucinelli was born in Castel Rigone (Perugia) in 1953. In 1972 he graduated as a surveyor and enrolled in the faculty of Engineering, which he left shortly later. Since 1978 he began his career as an entrepreneur, by founding a little company and proposing, as his distinctive feature, the colored cashmere, which was really appreciated by the public, especially in Germany.
In 1982 he married Federica Benda, with whom he had two daughters, and moved to Solomeo, where she managed a little clothing shop. Here he bought the fourteenth-century castle of the village, where in 1985 he inaugurated the new company headquarter. Then he began an activity of recovery and redevelopment of the ancient village, creating spaces dedicated to meeting and culture (he is indeed fascinated by latin culture and ancient Greece). In 2000, when the growing market requests asked for bigger productive structure, he decided to adapt an old factory: so he didn’t build any new structure.
The Foundation and the humanistic capitalism
Since when he was young, Brunello Cucinelli had been dreaming of a job which could respect the ethical and economical dignity of men, so he decided to define a new idea of capitalism, able to dove value to culture and human person and to pursue the common good. He believes in the beauty of handmade products and he is convicted that artisanal quality cannot be reached without humanity.
As a consequence, in Solomeo Umbrian master craftsmen realized the architectonic and landscape complex named Foro delle Arti, a place dedicated to culture and including the Neoumanistica Aureliana Library, the Gymnasium, the Amphiteather and the Cucinelli Theater (the last one was inaugurated in 2008). In 2010 the Fondazione Brunello e Federica Cucinelli was founded, aimed at sealing and spreading the values which the planning of the complex was based on.
Then, in 2013, the Scuola di Alto Artigianato Contemporaneo per le Arti e i Mestieri was born: by this educational institute the entrepreneur wanted to save and transmit the handcrafting expertise, which he consider an important humanistic element.
In 2014 the Foundation presented the Progetto per la Bellezza, a project which three big parks were realized around Solomeo by, giving value – in a symbolic way too – to land, which everything comes from, in the opinion of the company.
Awards
In the same period Brunello Cucinelli led his company to the most important successes, inspired by the great ideals of men: ethics, dignity and morals. Since the beginning of 2000 his entrepreneurial and humanistic work has been celebrated by a series of prestigious national and international awards. Among these we find the Presidency of the Teatro Stabile dell’Umbria, the Ernst & Young Award as Italian Entrepreneur of the Year (2009), the Leonardo Quality Italy Award (2010), delivered at the Quirinale by the President of the Republic Giorgio Napolitano. He also received the Knighthood in the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic and the Honoris Causa degree in Philosophy and Ethics of Human Relations, conferred by the University of Perugia.
The development of the Brunello Cucinelli company
During the years the offering of the Brunello Cucinelli increased and in 2009 it began producing shoes too: nowadays the company is worldwide renowned among the most important ones in the luxury goods. On 27th April 2012 the company was listed in the Italian Stock Market: the negotiations of the first day made the price of the title increase of 49,7 %.
The development continued later too: in 2017 the company overtook for the first time the turnover of 500 million euros and, in 2018, his founder was considered the 33rd of the Italian richest men, with an estimated fortune of 1,5 billion euros. Really appreciated by his public, the brand continues his development: in 2022 it boasted 118 direct shops and his presence in 42 multibrand shops.
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