The worlds of high-fashion and winemaking are not as far apart as one might think.
Both require intuition, know-how — and wonderful ingredients. That’s perhaps why more and more fashion professionals and entrepreneurs are getting into vinoculture.
An example is Brunello Cucinelli’s venture, kicked off in 2011, when he planted an area of five hectares — or six, including the gardens — with vineyards in Solomeo, the medieval hamlet near Perugia, in the Umbria region, that he has restored over the years and that is home to his namesake company’s headquarters.
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“With this wine, my goal was to bring a little more dignity, if I could, to the land in Umbria,” said Cucinelli, speaking at the third edition of the Fashion Loves Food gala hosted by WWD with The Style Gate and Galateo and Friends in Milan. “The Umbrian countryside is already pretty well protected. The idea was to raise its prestige a bit.”
Advised by renowned oenologist Riccardo Cotarella, Cucinelli debuted his first wine in 2022, the 2018 vintage of the Rosso del Castello di Solomeo. The production capacity stands at about 9,000 bottles a year.
“Small batches, big profits. That’s the way to do it, folks,” Cucinelli offered with a chuckle. “Seriously: it’s hard to make money in agriculture…. we will produce wine only for as long as we sell sweaters, because once we stop selling our sweaters, the wine [production] has to stop. Wine is no easy business… It’s serious business, kind of like running a restaurant.”
Similarly, Francesco Vittorio and Giovanni Leonardo Bassan, the two Millennial brothers behind hip wine brand Katkoot — founded in 2018 and beloved by fashion figures and celebrities including Rick Owens, Michèle Lamy, Bella Hadid, Pusha T, A$AP Rocky, Offset, Skepta and Luka Sabbat — wanted their project to value the land they come from: Italy’s Veneto region, a renowned winemaking hub.
“True winemaking has always been central to our project. We started in the Veneto hills near Bassano del Grappa and gradually expanded to some of the best vineyards in Italy and France… but [production is] in small quantities, and always with respect for climate change, which is crucial in winemaking today,” explained Francesco Vittorio Bassan.
“We’ve always worked with producers who place value on old traditions rooted in the culture of the Veneto region where we grew up. But we’ve also looked at creating wines with a new perspective,” he said.
To this end, Giovanni Leonardo Bassan’s background as an artist, design consultant and Rick Owens’ head of furniture helped in forging a unique strategy, rooted in “bridging two worlds: of art and design and the world of wine, but with a contemporary twist,” he explained.
Every bottle comes with a sculptural base holder crafted from bronze, copper or aluminum. They were originally hand-manufactured by a small blacksmith atelier in Morocco before production was moved to Italy’s Veneto region, reiterating Katkoot’s link with the founders’ native region.
“The bottle becomes more than just something to drink from; it’s also a piece of art and design to treasure,” Giovanni Leonardo Bassan said.
The brothers’ enthusiasm for winemaking has confronted the difficulties of luring new workers.
“Right now, we’re based up in the Asiago Plateau, literally in the mountains, where we’ve built our new headquarters right into the rock. It’s an incredible achievement, but it’s always hard to find people willing to take on this kind of work. It’s a tough path to follow,” Francesco Vittorio Bassan said.
According to Cucinelli, the appeal of the job is dependent on the cultural and lifestyle proposition fostered by society.
“Let’s be honest: who’s going to want to work in this field — tilling the vineyards. Who’s going to do that if we don’t restore the moral and economic dignity of work?” Cucinelli said, reiterating his stance on humanism.
“We need to find balance in our lives again, in work, in family life. I really believe that the deep dissatisfaction so many of us feel these days, that heaviness in the soul, comes from the way we live,” he said.
