Kris Van Assche’s first look at this Berluti show put his point across punchily: A skinny guy wore a generously but sharply cut electric blue double-breasted suit and a red polo shirt. Below he was shod in—gasp—a sneaker. The sneaker was made in panels whose colors matched the outfit above and is called the Gravity. Certainly its inclusion here was a challenge to the traditional hierarchies of masculine sartorialism of which Berluti is a notable part.
To push the message still further there was a second pair of shoes in this look: The model carried a 48-hour bag in treated canvas that had a special split-seam carrying section at its side. Into these, languidly angled toes facing upwards, and in patinated leather unmistakably lustrous under the light of the Opera Garnier, had been slipped a pair of Berluti’s core leather shoes. Said Van Assche: “For me, really, this look is like a metaphor, a symbol, of the new Berluti man who is very much comfortable in sneakers but also very comfortable with the heritage.”
That dialectic carried on throughout a collection that also continued Van Assche’s incorporation of womenswear into the brand—Bella Hadid pops up everywhere at Paris menswear. Pattern and texture were the side dishes to the patina deployed on those sometimes carried, sometimes worn traditional Berluti shoes, a shearling coat, and the salvo of differently dyed all-leather Berluti suits—the incorporation of patina from footwear to clothing is another KVA emphasis here. The pattern and texture included parquet chevrons on knit sweaters and fur coats, and a cracking Prince of Wales overcoat. The collection played with powerful color—a double-faced pink lined aubergine coat over a tan suit and electric blue polo was especially peppy—and the two paint-splattered acid orange cow-hair coats at the end were eyewash refreshing.
New to this runway were hard-cased accessories and suitcases that were unmistakably by the British luggage firm Globe-Trotter, while shoes included a raised-sole Chelsea boot with a curved-to-point toe shape that resembled an oyster shuck. “In every look you will find some hand-craft and that is really the point of this collection,” said Van Assche in the throng that surrounded him afterwards.
