Berluti FW25 / Fall Winter 2025 – 2026 at Paris Men’s Fashion Week, Berluti in 2025, 130 years of walking handsomely.

For Berluti FW25 / Fall Winter 2025 – 2026, to celebrate its 130th anniversary this year, Berluti adopts the notion of Phylogeny – a core biological principle of new branches and families being born from one same trunk or tree – to showcase the three branches of expertise that evolved from a common root: the Maison’s mastery of leather. In the historic drawing rooms of the Simone & Cino Del Duca Foundation – a notable place of culture and learning – Berluti reflects on its storied heritage and shines a contemporary light on its three realms of style.

Three main highlights of Berluti FW25 / Fall Winter 2025 – 2026 :

The Démesure shoe

First, a little history. When Alessandro Berluti left his native Italy in the 19th century to seek his fortune in Paris, the humble cabinetmaker possessed nothing but youthful energy and his two feet, which he carved precise models of. On the road to Paris – city of infinite possibilities – he met a troupe of actors and fell in with their bohemian lifestyle for a while. His companions mostly went barefoot, so out of goodwill, he spontaneously fashioned his first shoe by folding a simple piece of leather and piercing three pairs of lace-holes into it.

Once in Paris, he went to work for a cobbler to hone his craft, and there he designed the lace-up shoe that became all the rage among elegant men. It was 1895, and little did Alessandro know that in crafting a covering for the foot whose contours he’d endlessly sculpted, he was laying the cornerstone of his own little empire. His descendants – Torello, Talbinio and Olga – took this foundational act as a springboard for stunning shoe collections that Olga would come to describe with the expression Démesure, meaning exaggeration or excess.

The Maison has consistently given new forms to this Démesure over the years, which a series of display columns in the Simone & Cino Del Duca Foundation’s dining rooms puts into perspective. It’s a logical way of showing how, at Berluti, it’s all about family lineage. The latest scion in the line is Mont Thabor. Named after Berluti’s first Paris address, this model highlights the angular shape of the collection and displays subtle new patina shades that are darker than usual. Black isn’t officially considered a colour, but a shade – a subtlety that Berluti fully embraces! The Maison’s Artisans put it to the test, exercising their talent to explore close to a thousand shades of black. The result is spectacular, yielding black with a deeper gleam than ever.

Next come two variations on the Alessandro, Parade and Alto, forming a bridge to the new version of Stellar. After sneakers were first introduced in 2015 by Alessandro Sartori, Kris Van Assche brought in the Stellar in 2019. Now it’s back, as striking as ever, but in a softer version that’s bound to turn heads. Berluti doesn’t uproot the past completely, but cultivates a strong rootstock where different heritages coexist, evolve and are reborn.

The Forestière jacket

Moving through the rooms, let’s stop further along. Fifty years after the Alessandro was invented, a new kind of jacket appeared in Paris in 1947: the Forestière. A design by Arnys, bespoke tailors and arbiters of style on the Seine’s Left Bank in the post-WWII years, it was a special order for an illustrious client of theirs, the Architect Le Corbusier. Le Corbusier’s constant pursuit of efficient design had led him to request a jacket that was both elegant and functional, so he could head out to a smart dinner directly from his office, without having to go home and change first. A cross between hunting jacket and chore coat, the playfully named Forestière drew inspiration from the jackets of hunters in Sologne, which they would wear all day long, both in the forest and at the dinner table.

Practical, stylish and understated, the Forestière enjoyed a quiet existence until 2010, when fate brought Arnys into the orbit of Berluti, with which it shared a number of clients. The Arnys archives are pure gold, and Berluti harnessed that mastery of custom tailoring to bring back some forgotten gems, including the Forestière. Drawing on that jacket’s superb purity of line, the Maison has designed a strikingly fresh collection, which has a workwear flavour to it and can be worn in a multitude of ways. This hybrid style is very much of our times, blending influences, yet remaining true to its originator’s concept. It comes in short and long versions that lend themselves beautifully to mixing materials, layering, and styling in your own way. Like a loyal friend, this piece will see you through from morning until night, making you look good wherever you go.

The Périple bag

Périple means journey, which conjures up visions of getting away to faraway places. Since Berluti introduced its first bags 20 years ago with the Jour line, they’ve become go-to classics for elegant gentlemen. But until now, the natural stiffness of their customary Venezia leather gave a rigidity that didn’t suit every use case. Advances in leather call for new ways of working, and in the kitchen of the Simone & Cino Del Duca Foundation, the Maison exposes some of the secrets behind crafting its latest bag, the Périple.

Here, all the constituent parts that make up the bag are spread out on the table, in the same way as a great chef assembles their ingredients. These leather pieces highlight the painstaking assembly required in leathercraft – it’s like putting together a noble jigsaw puzzle. Always keen to meet the moment, Berluti designed this new line of supple yet sturdy bags as the ideal accessory for our urban journeys, especially by bike. But make no mistake – the aptly named Périple is still quintessentially Berluti.

This is evident firstly in the raw material it’s made from, full-grain Venezia Softy leather. Also, in the bag’s structure, with a bottom piece that runs all the way round and up to the Straps, recalling the sole of a shoe. A recessed assembly method was used to suggest a similar construction to an oxford shoe.

The detailing abounds with Berluti signatures like leaf-shaped chapes, edge binding, a zipped side pocket in the 1 Jour style, and the big U-shaped main zip opening – so although it’s a totally new design, this bag has all the hallmarks of a true Berluti piece.

One last selling point is how supple it is, meaning when you carry it over your shoulder on its long strap, it moulds itself very snugly around your hip. This makes it easy to reach the two end pockets, where you can stash all those daily essentials like your phone, cardholder, keys, and so forth. With such a notable pedigree, Périple is only the debut piece in a range that’s set to expand in the not-too-distant future. Coming soon: a messenger bag of comfortable depth, a compact carry pouch, and – at the other end of the spectrum – a big weekender.

130 years of Phylogeny, Like a tree that’s stood for 130 years, the Maison puts forth new limbs from its three main branches – new offshoots of its style spanning from head to toe, in the same way as Berluti extends from the Foundation’s ground floor up to its third. And in the canopy of this tree, a breeze gently rustles the leaves of its remarkable elegance.

About Berluti, French House Berluti, founded in Paris in 1895, has been built by four generations of shoemakers. In 2005 fine leather goods were introduced and, in 2011, a complete clothing collection. A unique bespoke service from head to toe is now available through Berluti’s Workshops in Rue Marbeuf and Rue de Sèvres. Berluti now has over 60 stores worldwide.

All images Berluti FW25 / Fall Winter 2025 – 2026 by Berluti. PR Agency Karla Otto Paris.