Carolina Cucinelli is Bringing Her Family Business to the Table With Our Food Stories
It is impossible to visit the town of Solomeo, Italy without seeing the Cucinelli family's influence. Designer Brunello Cucinelli, who revolutionized the market with his colored cashmeres, has been slowly restoring the village over the past 30 years, bringing it back to its former glory.
The designer's daughter, Carolina, learned the family values of sustainability, craftsmanship, and compassion at a young age. From a childhood running around the village as it was being restored to now working alongside her father at the company's helm, the 30-year-old is looking to tell the story of the brand through new sets of eyes.
Cucinelli is combining her love of interiors, visuals, and gathering for meals in a new collaboration with Berlin-based food and lifestyle blog Our Food Stories. The photos speak to a collective desire in a moment of social isolation to make meals a beautiful experience, even if we are just with our families, roommates, or by ourselves. Though the Brunello Cucinelli brand is known for their cashmeres, the collaboration features tables piled high with linens, ceramics, and mouth-blown glassware, all handmade in Italy.
“When you buy pieces from our collection you buy pieces of our land, our artisans, our Solomeo...our everything,” says Cucinelli.
L’OFFICIEL: What was it like growing up surrounded by fashion?
Carolina Cucinelli: My sister and I were born around the time my father was setting up the company, and when we were young we spent a lot of time with the women that worked with him. They would give us little pieces of cashmere to make dresses for our dolls and would even teach us techniques for how to make them. We grew up alongside fashion, seeing the fabrics and how everything came together, so it came very naturally to me.
After I finished high school in 2010, my father asked me to work at the company for a year before starting university in order to learn the different aspects of the business. I ended up staying for the rest of my life! I’ve had a chance to spend a few years in production, a few years in retail, and now work very closely with Brunello.
L’O: Were you and your family always so close?
CC: Yes, always! Everyone in my family works at [Brunello Cucinelli], my father, my sister, myself, my sister’s husband, and my husband as well. My mother works for the family foundation. It can sometimes be strange because at home we definitely act like family, but at work we are individuals, and Brunello is definitely the boss. It took some time to get used to, but we’ve managed to find the right balance.
L’O: You are very passionate about interiors and the home, which now is more important than ever. What drew you to that category and why is it important to you?
CC: I am very passionate about art in general and design is definitely a part of that. During this time we’re all spending at home, I’m trying to make my house as comfortable as possible. I had a baby during the pandemic, and I wasn’t able to see my friends and family, and I missed traveling and going out. I organized my home in a way that made me feel more calm, for example decorating using light colors, and I made a little office in front of two big windows so I can see outside. It’s so important for me to have that space for myself.
I also love to buy scented candles wherever I go, because the scent brings me back to wherever I was at the time. For example, if I want to feel Amsterdam, I light the candle I bought while I was there. I do believe that scents really can conjure up memories.
L’O: Tell us about your collaboration with Berlin-based food and lifestyle blog, Our Food Stories.
CC: One thing that was solidified for me during the pandemic is the importance of gathering around a table for meals. Food is extremely important in Italian culture—we’re the kind of people who decide what to eat for dinner during lunch! That’s where the idea for this collaboration came from. What I’m trying to do at Brunello Cucinelli is tell the story of the brand through different sets of eyes, whether it be artists, musicians, or, in this case, food stylists and photographers. Not necessarily through clothes or homewares, but through shared values and feelings. I came across these two girls from Berlin, [food stylist] Nora Eisermann and [photographer] Laura Muthesius, whose mission is to share beautiful images and recipes complete with curated tablescapes. I felt that they spoke to the desire we have in this moment to create an atmosphere in our homes, and to connect around food and hospitality. Just because you are only seeing the people you live with, that doesn’t mean you can't set the table for your family. Even if you are adding just one flower, it can really change the feeling of a meal.
L’O: How did the pandemic change you and what are the biggest lessons you learned?
CC: I definitely see the value of time more now. Before the pandemic, I always had very full days of meetings and appointments, but now all that has stopped. We’ve been forced to live inside this pandemic, and I realized that I always had the time to do the things I truly cared about, I just didn’t make them a priority before. I’ve had the opportunity to rethink how I want to spend my time, and I think I’ll continue to live differently as life slowly returns to normal.
I also realized that we have to show respect for nature and the world surrounding us. Three months into the pandemic, a dolphin was found swimming in the Venice canals—the water there had never been so clean! That left me speechless, it was like nature reclaiming its space. Like it was communicating to us that we had gone too far.
L’O: Your family restored Solomeo, the small town in central Italy where you were born. What does that project mean to you and what is it like to live in a place that your family has had such a hand in transforming?
CC: The idea was to set up the company toward the outskirts of the village, and to go back to one of the many small towns and villages that Italy is built from. Many people feel too isolated living in a village, but Solomeo is actually only five kilometers away from the city, and here you have a completely different quality of life. You get to live in harmony with nature and there is a sense of community. When I was young, I felt very free because I could run around alone and others in the village would keep an eye on me, so I was always safe.
Since the village has been restored, many families have moved back, and now there is a new generation of children who will hopefully choose to stay here as well. I always felt like I would live in Solomeo for my entire life. I love traveling the world and discovering new places but at the end of the day I love coming home here. I watched the village as it grew and evolved and I like the idea of my son having the same childhood freedom that I did. One other important value I feel people in these small villages have is always offering help to those who need it. This is one of the main values I want to pass down to my son.
L’O: In this time of fast fashion where everything is about what's new, Brunello Cucinelli is about a slower approach. How have you resisted falling into that mentality?
CC: We just design products that take time. It’s also important for us that our garments last forever. I have some sweaters that date back 40 years, and I’d love to pass them on again. Young people think a lot about sustainability, which I appreciate. They prefer to buy fewer, higher quality pieces, and want to know how garments are made.
In Italian, we use different words when referring to something’s cost versus its value. Some garments are more expensive for the sake of profit, which isn’t fair. Pricing things high for the sake of it is different from pricing things high because they are actually worth more. Sometimes it takes up to 20 hours to make one single sweater of our's all by hand, and there is a dignity to this work but it can also be very time-consuming. We don’t want any of our artisans to be paid one Euro less than what they are worth.
