Brunello Cucinelli A Decade of Lookbook Styling Overview and 10 Signature Old Money Pieces
Brunello Cucinelli style features layered looks with different textures and colors for both men and women, rarely following the current minimalist luxury mono-color trend.
Let's summarize BC's signature styling and key pieces:
Common characteristics in both men's and women's wear:
Shearling coat: Women's versions feature different craftsmanship, often creating fur effects, available in long vests, coats, short coats, and jacket styles; men's versions primarily come in jacket cuts with the suede side worn as the outer surface
BC's standard loose-top-slim-bottom pants: This silhouette dominates both men's and women's collections. Women's styles tend to be solid colors or embellished with sequins, while men's versions often feature wales check, vertical stripes, and corduroy suits
Both lines emphasize boots and loafers: Men's collection includes derby shoes, while women's features sneakers with gray-purple crystals and pointed mules
BC's Layering Formula:
Men's layering: Shearling jacket + suit or zip/button cashmere sweater + crew neck cardigan and shirt collar or simply a turtleneck cashmere sweater; paired with BC's signature pants. For spring/summer, remove the shearling jacket but maintain the same formula.
Another combination is cashmere vest with down jacket + turtleneck cashmere sweater
Men's suit/tailoring signature elements: wales check, vertical stripes and corduroy; Fair Isle parallel patterns and striped cashmere sweaters
Women's layering: Focuses on texture mixing. Features signature textural fabrics like sequins, fishnet, patterned cutouts, feather fringe, and organza, which create distinct material contrasts. These crafted fabrics are considered BC women's wear signatures.
Additionally, Brunello Cucinelli women's wear emphasizes high waists and waistline creation, showcasing pants and skirts by either tucking in tops or using high-waisted pieces. Even mid-length suits and shearling coats are belted to create a waistline. This also highlights BC's signature pants and distinctive belt designs.
Below would be detailed showcase images from select runway shows between 2013-2025, organized by signature pieces
The top row shows Brunello Cucinelli 2012, 2013, and 2014, with the bottom row featuring 2016 and 2017.
This mix-and-match style has been present from the beginning; the signature pants silhouette - loose around the thighs and gradually tapering down - continues to this day. BC pants are easily recognizable.
Since then, there has been a preference for vertical stripes and wales check patterns. We'll discuss this more in the men's section, as many BC suits feature vertical stripes and wales check (Further reading: Explained in Detail: Scottish Tartan Plaids & Classic Tweed Fabrics || 9 Iconic British Brands )
The two shearling coats above and the vest below are among Brunello Cucinelli's most expensive and iconic pieces, more worth investing in than BC's regular coats, though they are pricier. You only understand the quality difference in shearling once you've felt BC's version.
As for fur, BC rarely produces it anymore - not seen since 2018. Many fur-like pieces have been replaced with shearling, using the finest and softest quality.
Shearling coats appear in almost every women's FW collection.
Left side shows 2020 FW, right two images show 2021 FW
Brunello Cucinelli 2022 FW
Left side shows 2023 FW, right side shows 2024 FW
In BC menswear, the shearling jacket stands alongside suits, corduroy sets, track pants, cashmere down jackets, and cashmere cardigans as signature pieces. There are many examples, and like women's shearling outerwear, they appear in nearly every FW collection at similar price points. We'll cover men's wear specifically later.
Next, let's look at recurring designs in Brunello Cucinelli women's wear.
From left to right: 2018, 2024, 2025
2019, 2020, 2021 fur-textured wool and cashmere treatments
2021, 2023, 2024, 2025 special patterned heavy-textured cashmere
Sequin applications in knitwear, suits, and dresses
2014, 2018, 2019, 2021
2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 - Sequins appear as frequently as shearling coats and vertical stripe/wales check suits. Almost every year includes pieces with reflective sequin details.
BC's cutout fishnet patterns have become a signature design since 2018, often combined with sequins.
2018, 2019, 2021, 2022
The 2023 SS collection particularly emphasized grid patterns
2024, 2025 grid designs continue alongside sequins
These ethnic-style patterned cashmere sweaters are rare in women's wear, appearing only in 2019 and 2023
They're more common and popular in men's wear, becoming a BC signature piece
BC's long dresses typically reach the floor
2013, 2016, 2018, 2019
Left two from 2022, then 2023, 2025
Since 2020, midi skirts have been present in collections from 2020 through 2024, likely continuing into 2025 FW.
The left two cashmere sweaters and cape styles are oversized with dropped shoulders. This silhouette is common in BC's women's cashmere cardigans and sweaters, creating a somewhat diamond-like shape.
These three midi skirt styling examples show BC's high-waist emphasis - either belted, tucked in, or naturally cropped. This appears in almost every BC RTW collection and is core to BC styling.
This styling approach effectively showcases BC's pants silhouette and distinctive belts, which are quite unique and design-focused.
Brunello Cucinelli 2019
Brunello Cucinelli 2020 Spring
Brunello Cucinelli 2020 Fall
Brunello Cucinelli 2021 Spring - Even suit jackets are belted with dedicated belts. While Agnona also likes to add belts over coats, they rarely tuck clothing into bottoms. Among all brands, only BC consistently favors this styling approach.
Brunello Cucinelli 2021 Fall - Cinched waists, high waists, and perfectly tailored pants
Brunello Cucinelli 2022 Spring
Note these two designs featuring organza - BC often uses organza in spring/summer collections
The coats, skirts, and pants from 2023, 2024, and 2025 use sheer, ultra-thin organza. While this is a minor design feature, The Row is currently the leader in organza silk production, featuring several sheer silk pieces in nearly every collection since 2012. When combined with flowers and sequins, it takes on BC's signature style.
In contrast, BC produces fewer coats. For these larger pieces, including shearling coats, BC prefers the draped style shown in the right two images. The leftmost image, with its proper fit, monochromatic color scheme, lack of high waist and belt, absence of shearling, sequins, mesh, or cutouts, appears distinctly un-BC.
Some suits are also worn draped like this
Finally, summarizing Brunello Cucinelli women's wear key characteristics:
Must feature mix-and-match styling with different fabrics and colors layered together. Even in monochromatic looks, variation is added through organza, fringe, or cutout patterns. The popular minimalist trend doesn't apply to BC - this holds true for both men's and women's wear.
Styling emphasizes high waists - either through cropped tops, tucked-in pieces showing various distinctive belts, or belts worn over outerwear. A defined waistline is essential. If this condition isn't met, at least one or two of these four elements must be present: sequins, mesh grid, cutout patterns, feathers/fringe/fur details.
Suits, shearling, and cashmere coats are worn draped.
Brunello Cucinelli women's wear core pieces: shearling coats; BC's signature loose-top-tapered-bottom pants in various fabrics, typically paired with boots; sequined cashmere sweaters, suits, trousers, and dresses; cutout mesh grid and patterned cashmere tops, cardigans, pants, and spring/summer organza pieces.
Men
Since 2013, Brunello Cucinelli has produced 6 men's looks annually, compared to dozens of women's looks. From 2019, this number increased to 20-40+ looks.
Signature Brunello Cucinelli menswear styles that appear almost every year include:
Shearling jackets, Fair Isle vintage patterned cashmere cardigans, cashmere vest down jackets, corduroy pieces, wales check and pinstripe trousers and suits.
Brunello Cucinelli 2019 Spring
Shearling jacket
Brunello Cucinelli Men 2018 BC menswear fall/winter mix-and-match style
Left 2021, right 2022, shearling coats appear in both men's and women's fall/winter collections almost every year
Brunello Cucinelli Men 2023 Must be mixed-and-matched - turtleneck cashmere sweaters don't need shirts underneath, while crew neck sweaters typically layer over shirts with visible collars. The middle look showing the shirt tail is rare for BC
Brunello Cucinelli 2024 shearling jackets, including mid-length versions. BC men's coats typically come in this mid-length, whether shearling or cashmere.
The rightmost image shows BC's formal suited look with tie - distinctly Italian style tailoring
BC menswear's second core piece is the thick shawl collar cashmere cardigan, especially button-front styles, regularly appearing in fall/winter
Brunello Cucinelli 2020, 2021, 2023, 2024 FW
Zip-front styles are also signature pieces, including solid color and striped versions
The third signature piece is the cashmere down jacket, especially vest versions. The cashmere down vest is also representative in women's wear.
2015, 2017, 2018 early down vests
BC 2023 The vest was a key piece this season, as vests have been trending these past 2-3 years
In comparison, long-sleeve cashmere down jackets are less common
The fourth signature piece is the corduroy series, mainly in menswear. Commonly used in suits, jackets and coats
From left to right 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024
Recently reading Middlemarch, Victorian-era English boys who dressed well wore corduroy clothing
not a cottager in those double cottages at a low rent but kept a pig, and the strips of garden at the back were well tended. The small boys wore excellent corduroy, the girls went out as tidy servants,
The fifth signature piece is suits, especially wales check and pinstripe, which are the focus of men's collections in both 2024 seasons
2024 Spring Brunello Cucinelli's varied-width striped suits
2024 Fall Brunello Cucinelli striped suits
2024 Fall and Spring wales check suits
Brunello Cucinelli also has solid color suits, but I find them less distinctive with many alternatives available 17 Top Luxury Men's Suit Brands for Gentlemen
Epilogue
Brunello Cucinelli has truly created something remarkable from the ground up, becoming a top performer in the fashion industry. It's no wonder people say BC's designs are more appealing than LP's. For over a decade, they've consistently produced at least 50 looks per Lookbook, maintaining their momentum while clearly recognizing and cultivating their brand's design identity. With persistent high-frequency updates, they've carved their own path during the era of Miu Miu trends and The Row's minimalism. In a few years, BC might well become a style reference point just like Miu Miu.
This article was originally part of a runway collection compilation, but because BC deserved such extensive coverage, it warranted its own dedicated piece.
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