The menswear runway show was invented in 1952 when Gaetano Savini, cofounder of Brioni, decided to tantalize the buyers who had come to Florence's Palazzo Pitti for the couture collections with something different. Savini's concept was straightforwardly revolutionary (you can see it on YouTube): He recruited a handsome devil named Angelo Vittucci to wear a dozen suits whilst working the room of mostly female department store buyers into a state of high excitement.
The ploy worked, and Brioni became the first Italian tailoring house to break into the U.S. Last night, the company, now owned by Kering and under the creative directorship of Brendan Mullane, marked its 70th year in business with a piece of runway theater that had none of the endearing naivety of Savini's groundbreaking innovation yet was just as persuasive.
Mullane's concept was to link the form of Vienna's Spanish Riding School with the Wiener Werkstätte, that same city's decorative arts modernist precursor. Hence his models fairly cantered around their carpeted arena, and the show climaxed with a synchronized intermingling that might have troubled the watching Kering whip-cracker, François-Henri Pinault, had disaster ensued. No fear: The choreography was as disciplined as Mullane's gently equestrian-touched and Werstätte-patterned tailoring, accessories, and outerwear. You had to look hard at the models as they rushed past to spot the quiet integration of somewhat Vorticist grids on the knitwear. The odd buckle (under the shawled collar of a cardigan), bridle-strap key chain, or double-pleated and tapering jodhpur were confidently sensitive hints at horsey-ness. Duffel coats, blousons, and jackets came in faded checks, which Mullane said were both horse-blanket inspired and reminiscent of Brioni pieces that were featured on a 1970s cover of L'Uomo Vogue. So while the designer played with his idea, he reined in any hint of excess in its expression to leave the audience a clear view of Brioni's core proposition—handmade ready-to-wear tailoring that is as seductive now as it was in 1952.
