Berluti A/W 2017

Separate front on view of models on the catwalk, the left in a brown jacket and gloves the right in all black carrying black bags

(Image credit: TBC)

last updated 15 July 2022

Mood board: Creating a ready-to-wear offering for a shoe brand is a hard task without the added pressure of a legacy stretching back to 1895. The Parisian house only introduced clothing in 2011 and it has become known for a playful take on luxury dressing thanks to designer Alessandro Sartori. In September last year it was announced that the Colombia-born designer Haider Ackermann would replace Sartori as creative director. His hallmarks, from more than a decade in fashion, are well-established. The jewel toned velvets, cropped pants and long unstructured coats he showed for his Berluti debut were new for the house yet totally faithful to his own oeuvre.

Finishing touches: Days before the show, Ackermann shared three moody short films via the brand’s Instagram page. They depict a young man wandering through the streets at night and along the Seine in the early hours of the morning. The muse is both romantic and modern, with images of the full moon and brutalist architecture mingling with rippling water patterns, a swan, a clenched fist, and the man pensively scanning the sky. The new look for Berluti was decidedly raffish yet still committed to elegance and comfort. The models sauntered the runway, some with custom-made guitar cases on their backs, or exotic skin attachés clutched at the hip.

Best in show: Standout were lace-up boots in an almost-black emerald green, a black leather aviator jacket with a splash of red crocodile on the lapels and a deep red lining, and a beautiful cashmere sweater with a large roll neck. Made out of a single piece of cloth with just two seams, it is a modern classic.

Berluti A/W 2017

A front on view of two separate models on the catwalk, left in brown jacket and trousers, the right a leather jacket and white t shirt

A front on view of the same catwalk but different models predominantly wearing brown clothing

A front on view of the same catwalk but different models wearing brown clothing carrying holdalls

Two front on views of different models walking down the same catwalk, The left in what looks like a velvet maroon jacket, the right in a dark coloured long coat and trousers

London based writer Dal Chodha is editor-in-chief of Archivist Addendum — a publishing project that explores the gap between fashion editorial and academe. He writes for various international titles and journals on fashion, art and culture and is a contributing editor at Wallpaper*. Chodha has been working in academic institutions for more than a decade and is Stage 1 Leader of the BA Fashion Communication and Promotion course at Central Saint Martins. In 2020 he published his first book SHOW NOTES, an original hybrid of journalism, poetry and provocation.