Brunello Cucinelli, the stealth-wealth clothier favored by billionaires living and fictional (see: Amazon's Jeff Bezos, Succession's Kendall Roy), has launched his first foray into fragrance.
The designer's inaugural duo of scents are inspired by the lush landscape of Umbria, his home base. Of course, Mr. Cucinelli enlisted the best of the best to bring his vision to life: Olivier Cresp, the olfactive genius behind Mugler's Angel, developed Brunello Cucinelli pour Homme, a woody fragrance accented with juniper, black pepper, and sage.
Daphné Bugey, the perfumer behind hits including Le Labo's Rose 31 and Jean Paul Gaultier's Scandal, lent her expertise to Brunello Cucinelli pour Femme, a citrus blend balanced with woody and peppery notes. Both fragrances are available to preview at the brand's Milan Montenapoleone boutique.
For Cucinelli, the project was a labor of love. At an event announcing the launch, he recounted the death of a "very dear friend, a producer of aromatic essences... I dreamt that one day I would dedicate a new product to his memory. Today I’m making that dream come true, a dream I’ve never abandoned in all these years."
The designer continued: "Just consider how long perfumes have fascinated women and men and accompanied them through life... I like to think that a fragrance, used in moderation, is like a caress: Along with trust, it gives someone a vision of the world, in color."
It's clear that intention and quality are central to his entry into the olfactive realm — this is, of course, the case with all things Brunello Cucinelli, one of the reasons the brand is favored by the Roys of the world. To borrow from that viral moment: There's nothing ludicrously capacious here.
Fragrance — a category that, even at its most luxurious, is more accessible than, say, a $9,000 jacket — will bring Cucinelli's vision of quiet luxury to a wider audience, offering a spritz of Succession for all.
