Cerruti’s oceanic spring

Lola Saab talks to Cerruti’s artistic director, Zoran Bosanac, after the spring–summer 2012 menswear show in Paris, about the company’s design direction and what the brand means to him
PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY CERRUTI

WHAT BEGAN as a family business has transformed into a globally recognized label.

Italian designer, Nino Cerruti, founded the wonderfully stylish, luxurious and elegant house of Cerruti in the beautiful city of Paris in 1967. Born in Biella in the northern region of Piemonte in Italy, he was bound to be an innovative stylist who would attract the general public with his creatively chic designs. Nino’s grandfather had founded a textile mill in 1881 called Lanificio Fratelli Cerruti based in Cerruti’s hometown. This first step was a leap into the world of fashion representing stylistic designs. While 1967 marked the beginning of Cerruti menswear, Cerruti Woman was launched in 1976.

Currently, Cerruti is also known for its sunglasses, watches and even a number of fragrances, with the first scent launched in 1978.

The Cerruti label has different sub-labels and categories; Cerruti, Cerruti 1881 and 18CRR81, the sportswear label. Each line contains a personal touch of class and style that men and women can embrace, aimed for both formal and casual events.

On June 25, 2011, during Paris’s menswear fashion week, we landed back in the place where it all began, at the recently renovated 3 place de la Madeleine in the centre of Paris, to attend the Cerruti spring–summer 2012 fashion show.

As the show was about to begin, the bright lights went off and the serene sound of an ocean made its way in. As spectators impatiently waited for the show to start, a musical beat resonated to announce the entrance of the first look on the runway. A boost of energy entered the area like a breeze of fresh air. The room suddenly lit up, lights beamed off of the walls and the surrounding mirrors. The looks were elegant, the cut and creations perfectly formed, blending an intense manly look with a highly fashionable feel. The colours reflected various shades of blue, white, grey, silver, black and some brown.

The collection was considerably comfortable and fantastically flowing. A number of looks were presented to fulfil every man’s tastes. Suits were well fitted and shaped to emphasize a confident and manly look. A simple light blue V-neck sweater accompanied a pair of dark blue pants, revealing a shift from a businessman look to a more casual appearance. The rope motifs on silk material gave the audience the impression that they were out at sea.

Nature’s fierce beauty played a vital role in the show. As one look was followed by another, the ocean effect constantly continued to make its way through.

After the show, we caught up with Cerruti’s artistic director, Zoran Bosanac. He sat with us and gave us a deeper perspective of the new collection and provided us with his own idea about fashion.

Lucire: Can you tell us about the designs and the different shades of colours that are featured in this collection?

Zoran Bosanac: We were [inspired] by the Atlantic Ocean and the colours are also very oceanic from a sense—light sense, dark sense—and then there are all types of blues: light blue, deep blue, navy and very dark blue. That was a basic point of the show.

We found a photo from the archives with … Nino Cerruti, in the mid-’70s on the beach and he had some printed pants. We reworked that type of print for the show, so you see the results with the sailor prints …

How long did the collection take to prepare?

The gap between winter and summer is a little bit shorter, so you always feel like you didn’t have enough time.

How do you feel about this collection?

In a moment like this, after the show, it is very difficult to speak in the objective. This season, having a really great pleasure to prepare the collection is the most important thing, after the result is seen in all of this. Anyway, collections are aimed to sum up the mood of the moment in general of fashion. Cerruti was never really about fashion; it was more about the style, so we always try to keep it still like this.

We are completely into the comfort [of the clothes]. It is one of the most important things … effortless and comfortable.

What is your perception about fashion today?

Let us say that everything is more global. My feeling is that people are not really enthusiastic about fashion as, let us say, twenty years ago, but there is something new emerging which is really the style of the life and this luxury … Luxury is really something today that is very difficult to define. Times are really changing very fast, which is why we are trying to keep the label out to fashion more into the terms of style.

You know there are a lot of changes like in the mid-’90s, big groups, internet … I think something changed profoundly in fashion.

How would you define the Cerruti brand?

So that the garment is to express the personality of the person who is wearing it, I would not like to overshadow it. This is the main point … •

Lola Saab is Paris editor of Lucire.

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