Brunello Cucinelli

An important conference was held yesterday morning at the prestigious St James's Palace in London. The event, organized by the Circular Bioeconomy Alliance (CBA), aimed to accelerate the path to a sustainable economy and promote further progress in the great humanistic-inspired project called the “Himalayan Regenerative Fashion Living Lab”, born from the collaboration with the Fashion Task Force of the Sustainable Markets Initiative (launched in 2020 by the then Prince of Wales, now King Charles III), Brunello Cucinelli and the Circular Bioeconomy Alliance. CEO Riccardo Stefanelli illustrated the progress made so far with the project, sharing the stage in a speech with Federico Marchetti (Chair of the Fashion Task Force) and Giuseppe Marsocci (Giorgio Armani).  Mr. Stefanelli also reiterated how, just like the very beginning, the Himalayan project — born from a shared vision of Brunello Cucinelli and Federico Marchetti — will continue to see the ongoing commitment of the Solomeo-based company, always mindful of the goal to guarantee production that cares for the well-being of humans while never forgetting respect for nature and the planet we inhabit. In the afternoon, CEO Riccardo Stefanelli himself had the honour of speaking with His Majesty King Charles III and presenting the first pashminas made with cashmere harvested in the Ladakh region. ‘As on the first day that we made this important commitment strongly desired by His Majesty King Charles, today too we are deeply honoured to contribute to such a noble cause. I am grateful to those who brilliantly organized this very special day, during which I had the privilege and pleasure of speaking about the progress made in the first work phase, first with a very prestigious audience and then directly with His Majesty. Being able to see first-hand and feel the very first products was a huge emotion. Under the banner of Human Sustainability, which has always inspired our company in Solomeo, we will continue to offer our best through our contribution to the Himalayan Regenerative Fashion Living Lab Project, in which we truly believe and which we are certain will shed new light on the path of humanity’, Riccardo Stefanelli commented.

Last night, the Cucinelli Theatre in Solomeo hosted a delightful gathering dedicated to the dialogue between Science and Humanism. The event was enriched by the participation of Brunello Cucinelli, the Rector of the University of Perugia, Maurizio Oliviero, the humanist scientist Mauro Ferrari, and the French researcher and 2020 Nobel Prize laureate in Chemistry, Emmanuelle Charpentier, who, earlier in the day, had been awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Biotechnology by the Rector himself. The engaging and lively debate, moderated by journalist Eva Crosetta, unfolded through a series of reflections centred on the fundamental values that establish a relationship of mutual integration between Science and Humanism. To further enhance the evening, Mauro Ferrari, accompanied by several talented musicians, staged a performance embodying the harmony between science and art. ‘We extend our heartfelt gratitude to our visionary guests for enchanting us with their sublime narration of the invisible. Humanity is deeply grateful for the tireless dedication and enduring faith you place in both scientific and humanistic research’, Brunello Cucinelli commented.

On the 14th and 15th of November, Solomeo hosted the “Castello di Solomeo welcomes La Paulée” event, organised in collaboration with La Paulée and FINE+RARE. From the historic hamlet to the Cucinelli Theatre, from the winery to the vineyard, many guests participated in meetings, tastings, and guided tours, exploring the fascinating world of wine. Alongside Castello di Solomeo, the two-day event welcomed some of the world’s most prestigious wineries, including Domaine Marquis d’Angerville, Maison Louis Jadot, Champagne Salon et Champagne Delamotte, KRUG Champagne, Château Lafite Rothschild, Château l’Évangile, Château Cheval Blanc and Château d'Yquem. To mark the event's grand finale, Michelin-starred chefs Michel and César Troisgros of Maison Troisgros crafted a dinner that celebrated the flavours of the land, blending homage to tradition with creative experimentation. Brunello Cucinelli commented on the event as follows: ‘For the first time in Italy, we welcomed to Solomeo the “La Paulée” event, inspired by the ancient French festival celebrating the end of the harvest. Its popular roots are strong in Burgundy, where for generations winemakers tended to the Climats - recognised as World Heritage Sites for their priceless value. Preserving and passing on: this vision also inspired our vineyard, which we were proud to showcase along with our red wine “Castello di Solomeo.” We tasted some of the world’s finest French wines, accompanied by the presence of friends such as Guillaume d’Angerville and Saskia de Rothschild with their magnificent wines, Pierre-Henry Gagey from Maison Louis Jadot and Olivier Krug with his refined Champagne. We also gladly savoured the excellent Champagne Salon & Champagne Delamotte, as well as Château Cheval Blanc & Château d’Yquem. We thank Daniel Johnnes, our friends from La Paulée and Fine+Rare, and all our esteemed guests. Thanks also to Chefs Michel and César Troisgros for contributing to making these days even more special’. Discover more: https://lnkd.in/eYTfpUzN

On the 29th October, in the splendid setting of Casa Cipriani New York, and with over three hundred guests in attendance, Brunello Cucinelli was presented with the  prestigious “WWD John B. Fairchild Honor”. This significant lifetime achievement award, bestowed annually by one of the most influential global fashion publications, Women’s Wear Daily – of which John Burr Fairchild was the publisher (1997-2015), fully acknowledges the excellence of Made in Italy craftsmanship epitomised by the Solomeo fashion house. Brunello Cucinelli was chosen as the recipient of the 2024 edition of the award, as noted by James Fallon (Chief Content Officer WWD and Fairchild Media Group), in light of the “ongoing success of your company”, its continual innovations and the “perennial focus on mastery, creativity, craftsmanship, exclusivity, and the dignity of man”; as well as the “philanthropic efforts”  to the well-being of future generations, cultivated over the years by the Solomeo-based company. ‘This prestigious award deeply honours me. I view it as a tribute to the dignity of labour that we strive to nurture daily in our company. Upon receiving the news, my first thoughts went to my family and co-workers, whose creativity, grace and meticulous work made this success possible. 'Beauty' begins with beautiful human relations; in this sense, our creations are ambassadors both of high-quality raw materials and craftsmanship, and of our way of living and working. I am immensely grateful to the esteemed James Fallon, Amanda Smith, and the entire WWD team for their invaluable contribution to fostering knowledge and appreciation of Italian style worldwide. My final thought is for all beloved youth, the sentinels of the XXI century, to remind them that the soul is always the source of great thoughts’, commented Brunello Cucinelli. https://lnkd.in/dqdZVjuq

Yesterday, at Tongji University in Shanghai, the symposium "Heritage Reimagined" was held, dedicated to the conservation and revitalisation of cultural and architectural heritage. During the event, attended by Professors, students, and experts in architecture and urban planning, Brunello Cucinelli delivered a Lectio Doctoralis on Humanistic Capitalism and the preservation of Solomeo as well as its Genius Loci. The account of the revitalisation of the Umbrian hamlet and its surrounding natural environments provided an opportunity for a fruitful exchange of ideas and experiences with several restoration and urban renewal projects in Shanghai. Brunello Cucinelli commented on the event as follows: ‘This event was an opportunity to listen and also to share our experience of Humanistic Capitalism and Human Sustainability, and how, in its broader vision, it has instilled in us the desire to safeguard the Genius loci; from the restoration of the hamlet nearly 40 years ago to the “Project for Beauty,” through which we sought to recover and preserve the natural heritage that frames Solomeo, as a tribute to humanity and a gift to future generations. I sincerely thank all the esteemed participants for fostering a wonderful day of dialogue and universal friendship, which once again united the hamlet of Solomeo with the Chinese people’.

On 22nd September, in the charming setting of Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Brunello Cucinelli received the prestigious “SFA Visionary Award” during the CNMI Sustainable Fashion Awards 2024. Every year, the Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana honors organizations, individuals and personalities that have gained international prominence for their Sustainable innovation and commitment on craftsmanship, inclusivity, human capital, circular economy and environmental and social impact. Presented with the award by American actress Naomie Harris, Brunello Cucinelli was recognized for his approach to responsible business practices, based on the ethical values of Humanistic Capitalism & Human Sustainability. ‘I am particularly thankful because this award speaks of "vision," a concept that metaphorically defines how everything began when, as a young man, I said to myself: "I don't know what I will do with my life, but I will try to do it for the dignity of the human being." A "vision" that has steadily guided the path of Humanistic Capitalism and Human Sustainability, supporting the foundations of our beloved company. Today, with this recognition, I would like to thank all the people who have shared this "vision" for the future with me over time. My heartfelt congratulations to the esteemed colleagues honored during this beautiful evening, and a special thanks to the Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana, the distinguished jury, and finally, the talented Naomie Harris for accompanying me on stage with spontaneous kindness’, Brunello Cucinelli commented.

Letter of praise to Elderliness “Now comes the evening of my life, and my eyes see the world through the colour of honey, which is the shade light takes on when the sun, falling between the mountains, turns everything to gold. Now everything is more benevolent and available to me, and I myself have become more tolerant and patient than when I was a boy.  A new life is about to begin, one that both fascinates and frightens me; now I feel the need to figure out how to prepare myself for the new, I start thinking about a plan, just as I had learned at school, starting from reflecting on experiences”. Extract from the last thought written by Brunello Cucinelli: “Letter of praise to Elderliness”. Read the full text: https://lnkd.in/dThC_cFt

Gentle Luxury, a symbol of tailored beauty ‘The product of my work is, in important respects, based on luxury, and I have always thought that speaking of luxury means speaking of beauty. As a child, I lived in the countryside and was in constant contact with the purest form of beauty, which is that of Creation; every morning and every evening, I would observe the turning of the seasons that came back year after year, always the same and eternal. I like beauty even if it cannot be explained according to reason, and perhaps precisely because of that: there is some golden dust of madness in it, that of the poets, and how can one not see that truth too is a fruitful product of beauty? Every day I am reminded of the link between beauty and truth and, as Aristotle argued, truth in turn has to do with wonder. From this, the idea of gentle luxury was born in me as the most faithful expression of our idea, of our creations, of our style; for gentleness is one of the greatest factors of happiness, as, I believe, it allows us to follow our good "demon". The ancient Greeks called happiness “eudaimonia” for this reason. So what is gentle luxury? As a concept very close to that of beauty, it is not easy to find an exclusive definition, but I see luxury as a symbol: it appears symbolic to me because it is something that binds us to beauty’. Extract from the last thought written by Brunello Cucinelli: “Gentle luxury, a symbol of tailored beauty”. Read the full text: https://lnkd.in/d9cmSmiR  

Yesterday, Brunello Cucinelli's new website, based on Artificial Intelligence and the fruit of a harmonious blend between Humanism and Technology, was unveiled to the press at the Teatro Piccolo in Milan. The innovative web project, based on the Solomei AI platform and resulting from the union of what human creativity can imagine and the great potential that Artificial Intelligence can offer, was presented by Brunello Cucinelli himself, together with his close friend, architect Massimo de Vico Fallani, and Francesco Bottigliero, Chief of Humanistic Technology at the Solomeo Casa di Moda. In the presence of a large audience of distinguished members of the press from Italy and around the world, as well as several entrepreneur friends, Brunello Cucinelli emphasized that the underlying aim of the project was to engage with a technology capable of bringing out the best qualities of both Artificial and Human Intelligence. Brunello Cucinelli commented: ‘We have been working on this project for almost three years, with a dedicated group of researchers from the fields of mathematics, engineering, art and philosophy. Our hope is that it will harmoniously combine human and artificial intelligence, striking the balance between the ingenuity of the human being and the best of AI. As early as May 2019, we laid the foundations for a shared reflection on the topic with the world's leading AI experts thanks to the “First Symposium on the Soul and Economics of Solomeo”. Last May, we held the second edition of the Symposium, whose highlight was the Honorary Doctorate in Human Sciences awarded by our esteemed University of Perugia to my dear friend Reid Hoffman, a genius in AI. The guiding principle of our work on Humanistic Artificial Intelligence has been and will continue to be the pursuit of a serene and hopeful attitude towards a technology that, I am certain, will bring benefits to all humanity. Our website does away with the constraints of pages and places the human being front and centre, free to discover its content. The innovative Solomei AI platform, which seeks to visually and instantly represent what one is searching for, is the fine fruit of a plant that has its roots in ancient wisdom. My teacher Xenophanes reminds us: “Surely the gods did not reveal all things to mortals from the beginning, but over time, those who seek will find what is better”. I would like our young people, in their time, to confidently seek “what is better”.’

From 23 to 25 May this year, Brunello Cucinelli hosted the second edition of the "Universal Symposium on Soul and Economics in Solomeo", in continuity with the first edition held in May 2019, also in the Umbrian hamlet. The symposium involved a large group of leading international experts in Artificial Intelligence and other fields such as humanism, art, science, and nature and was attended by, among others, Nicholas Thompson (CEO of The Atlantic) who gave invaluable help in organising the Symposium, Laurene Powell Jobs (American philanthropist, founder and president of Emerson Collective), James Manyika (SVP Google Technology and Society), Fei-Fei Li (scientist heading Stanford's Human-Centred Artificial Intelligence Institute), Refik Anadol (world-famous artist), Michael Evans (president of Alibaba), Arvind Krishna (CEO of IBM), Uzodinma Iweala (prominent African writer), Kevin Scott (CTO of Microsoft), Pieter Van der Does (CEO of Adyen), Jacqueline Novogratz (prominent American philanthropist, CEO of Acumen). The guests also included Reid Hoffman, US entrepreneur and investor who on 24 May was awarded an honorary PhD in Human Sciences from the University of Perugia. The three days of the Symposium, which focused once again on deeply exploring the relationship between ethics and Artificial Intelligence, have thus made Solomeo and Perugia the centres of an enlightened system of thought on the positive future that awaits us. This is Brunello Cucinelli's comment: 'The three-day "Second Universal Symposium on Soul and Economics in Solomeo" was a memorable experience. Our beloved hamlet hosted some of the top international experts in AI and other fields such as humanism, art, science and nature, such as Laurene Powell Jobs, who we welcomed as a kind of godmother of the Symposium, and many other esteemed friends including Nicholas Thompson, Reid Hoffman, James Manyika, Fei-Fei Li, Refik Anadol, Michael Evans, Arvind Krishna, Uzodinma Iweala, Kevin Scott, Pieter van der Does and Jacqueline Novogratz. I believe that these days will be remembered forever by all attendees as an experience fostering their human and spiritual growth; and I hope that this Symposium will enlighten those who will read the Charter summarising its contributions. As often reiterated, technological innovation is a blessing from Creation, and if we know how to combine it with humanistic values, I think it will help us to increase the fruitfulness of the expressions of human creative genius.'