Men's Brands Empower Women's Business Style - Alina Reyzelman

Men’s Brands Empower Women’s Business Style

Brioni6I’d like to dedicate the first post about Business Style to masculine brands such as Brioni and Berluti. When you see a man dressed in a Bironi suit and Berluti shoes, you can see the association with chairmen of the board. These luxury labels suggest success, money and power. Brioni used to carry a women’s line and the goal was to create the same magic for its womenswear. I was a big fan of Brioni suits and dresses for many years because creative director Giampiero Arcese found a fine balance between classic style, abstract shapes, and provocative blend of different fabrics.

His inspiration came from wide range of sources, including travel experience and strong heritage and tradition of Brioni’s menswear. This is how Mr. Arcese described his vision for a woman’s line:

Brioni5

‘My woman will literally steal clothes from her husband’s closet. The result is extraordinary feminine because she never forgets her role; she is always aware of the power that femininity wields in our society and she re-invents the rules of this game exactly using in a seductive way elements coming from the man’s world’.

Arcese’s collections were a celebration of modern women, where he used the style elements of Japanese samurai and emancipation of women in the 20s and 30s. I would simply describe Brioni’s womenswear as elegant and luxurious fabrics, classy chic but with a pinch of masculinity, balance of power and celebration of feminity.

When Alessandro Dell’Acqua took over the creative design, his vision was to develop a working woman style but with a dark side. Unfortunately Brioni decided to refocus the company’s resources on its menswear business in 2012 and my collection of Bironi wear just like that became a vintage one. However, there are other luxury men’s brands that entered or are planning to enter women’s apparel market. It’s worth checking out Kiton and Hugo Boss. They are up for review next month!

Berluti-bagWhat can women buy at Berluti? This brand doesn’t make women’s clothes, but they make amazing leather accessories that are unisex. Historic French boot maker Berluti has a wide range of brief cases that would make a woman look strong, confident but elegant and formal at the same time. I recently bought Berluti Deux Jours bag that is a perfect briefcase for client meetings and a short business trip. It’s made from a soft, fine, high end leather, it has two compartments and a nice zipped outside pocket. Deux Jours bag has plenty of room for accessories, cosmetics, change of clothes, laptop and presentation materials.

Hope these tips will help you to see men’s brands from a different point of view.