The Cool King

In David Story's piece about cashmere, "The Cool King of Cashmere", I instantly hooked by the lead, how could you not be with his inviting language and descriptive word choice? "There are many interesting facts about Brunello Cucinelli, the 57-year-old founder, owner and divine inspiration of the high-end fashion house bearing his name: how he would much rather quote Marcus Aurelius, Kant or Henri David Thoreau than talk about spreadsheets, thread counts or global branding; how this past year he won the coveted 2010 Leonardo Prize for his contributions to Italian industry and culture; how the man who has been called 'the King of Gray' for his devotion to a softer, more muted palette started out selling extremely bright-colored cashmere sweaters from his garage in Perugia 33 years ago". Just from this description and few tid-bits of information I want to read on because I want to know more about this "King".

He then goes on to provide two more interesting details, that he is the son of a farmer and originally went to school to become an engineer. In addition to being interesting background notes he also makes them applicable as he shows how they pertain to the current industry, and focus of the piece. His description of the style of Cucinelli, "...its casual, off-the-cuff chic, as perfectly suited to the country as it is to the city, is the result of a rigorous, hands-on craftsmanship; well-thought out detailing; timeless yet so modern; why both garment and inhabitant seem effortless". Already from this description, that small unrealistic voice in the back of my mind is whispering, "Oh my God who doesn't want to be comfortable, and chic while looking effortless? You need a Cucinelli".

Throughout the piece Story provides several personable details about Cucinelli making him out to be an endearing King of the people, but he is not unrealistic about the fact that it takes more than a good heart to do what he does, it also takes money and lots of it, but,"thanks to his determination and humanistic zeal to create a better, more authentic workplace (and the money to do it), he has literally rebuilt the village: repairing ancient avenues and walkways, establishing a theater for the performing arts and building factories and workshops for 80 percent of Cucinelli's production". He goes on to say how they ate at a pizzeria, where 50 of the towns people came, including mothers and fathers with children, as well as grandparents. He describes the pastries they ate as being made by his wife and a friend battling breast cancer who is in fact that night celebrating her last round of chemo, these are very humbling details because these are things that ordinary people, not royalty, do all the time.

"This is a man who knows how to enjoy life, and he wants to make sure the rest of the world does as well", he may be enjoying the lap of luxury but he is not pretentious or greedy about it, he wants to literally share the wealth. Story tells us that, "Brunello has grown his company slowly and carefully: It's still very much a local operation, centered around his two factories in Solomeo, where he employs about 500 workers", again we get the sense that he is a family man, a community man, he cares about the well-being of others he is not looking to be a ravenous tycoon even if his $200 million-a-year profits allow him the option. He even considers his closest business partners to be his wife and eldest daughter, expecting that the younger one will soon become a part of the team; it's a large, luxury business but he runs it as a small family-owned and operated one.

In describing one of Cucinelli's "sweatshirts" Story has me wanting to wrap myself up in one, picturing how I would nuzzle my face into the soft fabric as I continued to read the warm piece. His description of a blazer has the once quiet voice in the back of my head now screaming that I must somehow get my hands on one of these, "Take, for example, the blazer, which buttons high, is cut shortish, and is very fitted and body-conscious, tucking itself in and around one's frame with an impossibly light cashmere flannel - perfect for those of us who loathe a bulky fall/winter jacket".

Story concludes with a simple line that emphasizes the laid-back, unpretentious success that Cucinelli possesses, "In the kingdom of black tie, it seems, The Cool King of Gray Cashmere did just fine".