Nearing its 70th anniversary, the Roman house of Brioni enjoys a history in menswear so distinguished and celebrated that it need only crack open its archives to find fresh nuance. Upon doing so, creative director Brendan Mullane, a Brit who knows his way around bespoke, was thrilled to discover candid footage of Hollywood greats Cary Grant, Henry Fonda, and Richard Burton as they were being fitted in Brioni suits for various roles. Inspiration struck, Mullane said during a live presentation—a heady, leisurely blend of fifties film noir and modern-day Los Angeles.
This was an unabashed collection layered with meaning and saturated with color. The designer said he wanted to reinvent the house's Columnar look, defined by boxy shapes on top and tapered, slightly cropped trousers below, around which other markers of casually elegant men's dressing were assembled: varsity-style jackets, polo shirts, Bermuda shorts. Reliable houndstooth plaids, herringbone weaves, and Prince of Wales checks featured prominently.
Now, about those saturated colors, so brazen in their searing tones of fuchsia, electric blue, and acid green, creating intricate, iridescent floral patterns tightly held together on silks and knits like the pieces of a puzzle. Mullane collaborated with L.A.-based artist James Welling, often cited by designers, to achieve the triple-exposure effect. Photographer Collier Schorr, another favorite among fashion circles, created the short films screened at the launch. Evocative of celebrity stalking—as in secretly taping actors through bedroom windows—they set a vaguely forbidden, slightly illicit tone that lent a dose of drama to the romance.
