Berluti: At Their Feet

This book might possibly signal an unprecedented moment in the annals of heritage brands that celebrate and memorialize their considerable legacies. Berluti: At Their Feet is a rare and refreshing look at how this 120-year-old company has chosen to present itself in its premiere appearance within this genre.

Glenn O’Brien offers us the history in a very conversational way that incorporates all the facts we need to know about the brand, plus he injects the narrative with doses of humor and celebrity factoids, which prevents the text from becoming overly pedantic or boring.

There is no doubt that the illustrations lend an air of levity to the subject while remaining very much fixed on its amazing and much vaunted history. All in all, this seems to be a very wise move for Berluti as the brand has always been the provenance of the privileged, the wealthy, and of the cognoscenti of sartorial splendors. It is really only recently, with its acquisition by LVMH, that the brand is now making a global push including the introduction of ready to wear.

Kudos to Rizzoli, Glenn O’Brien, M/M Paris and anyone else who had any input into the final execution of this masterfully oversized volume as it is truly a stand out. The photographs and illustrations along with the opening chronicle allow the book to be read as a story and not just a catalog of products. One might even go so far as to say the book takes the form of a true life adult fairy tale.

No question that Berluti: At Their Feet is an introduction of a brand that is on the precipice of international recognition. The reader is afforded a rare and insightful look inside how heritage brands such as this one perpetuate their legacy.