First Look: Cucinelli FW11, Part 1/2

Last week, I reposted some Cucinelli images from Neiman Marcus’ website. While they were nice, they didn’t have the same fantastical or luxurious sensibility of Cucinelli’s previous presentations. As I suspected, those were exclusive to Neiman’s, and weren’t actually part of Cucinelli’s official lookbook.

The following, however, are from Cucinelli’s official FW11 lookbook. The presentation is nothing short of awesome. The book opens with “Mappa Mundi of Ebstorf,” the largest ancient map known to man (3.5 meters in diameter), which was destroyed during WWII. The map is not geographical, but ideological, and portrays the earth as the body of Christ on which the countries of Europe are distributed as organs. At the heart is Sicily.

The Sicilian theme is carried into the foreward, where Cucinelli writes about Frederick II. An excerpt:

“Frederick II loved Siciliy not only because it was his homeland, but because it was a place where he could directly and globally exert his royal power. Already during the Crusades, Sicily was the true ‘center of the known world.’ Sicily - the paradise of the Germans and ‘the key to everything’ for Goethe - was the land where the emperor’s dreams would have come true and the land of prophesy. He used an impassioned and almost biblical language when speaking of Sicily, where he spent his childhood and adolescence. He calls it ‘the light of his eyes.’ He says it is sweeter than any pleasure, a safe harbor in a stormy sea, and a garden of delight in a wild forest. When Frederick is far from Sicily, he writes letters overflowing with tenderness and promises to return as soon as possible to gladden the Sicilians with his serene countenance. Another time, he says that if other populations under his reign live in peace, they are still cause for concern. However, his special care is directed to the heritage of Sicily, the dearest and most splendid of his possessions.”

The following shots, as you can guess, are all shot in Sicily, though in several different locations. One set of shots is taken on what I believe is Mount Etna, an active volcano that very much dominates the island. Here, Cucinelli’s fur coats are set against the dark charcoal rocks and misty fogs. Another set of shots are at Sicily’s ancient temples, where dry, crumbling columns sit on top of high cliffs. The models are photographed here against big, open, blue skies and the majestic view over the Gulf of Naxos. Finally, the last set of shots are taken at Sicily’s coast, where the white sea cliffs make the scene look almost Arctic.

The book is over two hundred pages long, but only about fifty pages are dedicated to menswear. While I try to keep this blog on topic, the shots of the womens’ collection were too spectacular for me not to post. Today’s post are all of the styling shots (click behind the cut to see more). Tomorrow we’ll look at some of the menswear pieces themselves.