My First Brunello Cucinelli : Monili Beaded Sequin Sneakers
This article introduces the overall sneaker styles of Brunello Cucinelli's men's and women's collections through my recently purchased BC sneakers. Sneakers are BC's signature shoe style - they're featured prominently in the website's footwear category, with similar styles for both men and women, creating BC's distinctive aesthetic.
The two light-colored pairs on the left are BC men's sneakers, while the two darker pairs on the right are BC women's sneakers. They all share a robust, rounded style with elevated heels and upturned toes (quality shoes and sneakers have higher heels and lower toe boxes for ergonomic design - heels need sufficient cushioning while toe boxes need stable grip). They feature double-layer rubber soles, parallel laces, primarily use suede leather, and have a dedicated leather patch on the heel for the logo or BC letters.
However, the best-selling men's sneakers are the deck shoes or training shoes shown below. Men's sneakers can't compete with women's sneakers in terms of price and style variety.
Brunello Cucinelli's deck shoes also feature slightly upturned toes. This design reduces metatarsophalangeal joint movement while walking, decreasing friction - similar to a rolling wheel - making walking more efficient. It also disperses ground reaction forces, protecting the toes. A reasonable upturn shouldn't exceed 15 degrees, as anything more might restrict joint movement and affect plantar fascia.
BC's shoes consider ergonomics, making them comfortable, not just aesthetically pleasing.
Currently, I can instantly recognize shoes and clothing from two brands: Brunello Cucinelli and The Row. Neither relies on logos for identification but rather on their inherent design.
Since women's sneakers are BC's flagship product, I'll elaborate on them. As mentioned in Brunello Cucinelli , BC women's wear features unique sequin and bead design elements. In shoe design, BC women's sneakers incorporate beading either on the laces or sides, which BC's website calls "monili embroidery" - in Chinese, it can be called beading or chain beading.
Since Fabiana Filippi transformed and BC lost its competitor, they've focused on using beading elements in women's wear. Many people still can't figure out these chain beads, as they involve jewelry design.
For my sneakers' Monili beading, BC included special care instructions: "Decorated with rhinestone-like brass ornaments, extremely delicate and fragile."
Besides chain beading, BC women's signature metallic sequin fabric is used in shoe design, with the upper combining this sequin fabric and suede. Men's sneakers, lacking these design elements, typically use all-leather construction.
BC's website also offers sequin fabric shoes, with almost the entire shoe covered in sequins. I think darker colors work better with sequins - like stars shining in the night sky.
Women's BC sneakers come in roughly three tiers: top-tier winter sneakers lined with wool, second-tier leather/suede or sequin fabric with prominent chain beading, and third-tier featuring regular tech materials and leather with minimal chain beading and sequins.
Brunello Cucinelli's name and logo are well-designed, suggesting quality. The accompanying descriptions promote brand culture, emphasizing the value of purchasing from a brand developing a small town, frequently mentioning Solomeo.
My pair has elastic instead of laces - I hope the elasticity lasts several years. The fit is quite snug; a shoe horn is necessary.
The shoe's details are well-executed. Since sequined mesh uppers can easily develop holes, BC added leather to the inner toe and heel areas to prevent wear. Except for trendy brands and major luxury brands, quality and design-focused brands where founders maintain oversight, pricing shoes over 10,000 RMB, excel in all details. Not just shoe design - even the shoe bags are better made than some regular clothing's cotton/linen, and the stuffing paper is higher quality and more substantial. Besides being expensive, there are no issues.
Also, I noticed that for these popular luxury items, even the Lane Crawford tag has metal thread on the back.
Just as I was planning to throw out my hard-soled, plastic-like New Balance shoes this spring, I encountered Brunello Cucinelli - it was meant to be. BC's women's sneakers are quite distinctive. My next BC item will be a belt - BC women's belts are even more expensive than their shoes, featuring lots of chain beading and primarily in grey.
When I asked Eddy which BC item he wanted most, he mentioned the cashmere vest and cashmere sweater. Indeed, these two categories are very representative of BC menswear, especially the combination of a turtleneck cashmere sweater with a cashmere vest, as I previously wrote about in the Brunello Cucinelli article.
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