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Our Master in Creative Knitwear Design students have launched a new Industry Project in collaboration with Brunello Cucinelli, one of the most respected names in the global luxury landscape. The project was inaugurated in Solomeo, the Umbrian hamlet that serves as the brand’s headquarters and stands as a symbol of a vision that seamlessly blends aesthetics, ethics and a deep respect for local heritage.
Entitled “Shades of Heritage” and led by Project Leader Simona Barbieri, with the support of assistant Chiara Borghi, the project invites students to engage with the brand’s identity, reinterpreting its DNA through a contemporary and personal design language.
Founded in 1978, Brunello Cucinelli is widely recognised as a benchmark for ethical luxury and artisanal excellence. The brand originated from the innovative idea of introducing colour to cashmere and has since evolved while remaining firmly rooted in values of quality, sustainability and respect for human craftsmanship. Today, this legacy is expressed through refined collections defined by a balance of tailoring, innovation and modern sensibility.
Within this framework, students are asked to develop an individual design project aligned with the brand’s heritage, understood as a living material that evolves over time. The outcome will be a capsule collection of 10 outfits, where knitwear becomes a three-dimensional language shaped by texture, volume and innovative techniques.
Particular emphasis is placed on exploring new proportions and technical experimentation, where cutting-edge technologies meet artisanal savoir-faire. The use of noble fibres and sustainable yarns plays a central role in expressing a form of luxury that is authentic, understated and enduring, in line with Brunello Cucinelli’s values.
The project brief explores heritage as a dynamic process — not nostalgia, but evolution. Through reduction, balance and attention to detail, students are encouraged to reinterpret historical codes such as logos, patterns and silhouettes, transforming them into essential, almost abstract elements in which materiality and garment construction take centre stage.
This Industry Project represents a significant opportunity for students to engage directly with one of the finest examples of Made in Italy, allowing them to confront real industry dynamics and develop a conscious design approachthat brings together creativity, innovation and product culture.
Our sincere thanks to Brunello Cucinelli and its team for their generous collaboration and for sharing their vision, expertise and values with our students.
