TOadjectives to define it. «Generous and determined». «Humble, generous and visionary». «Enthralling». So the wife Federicathe eldest daughter Camilla and second daughter Carolinaall three sitting on white sofas, the fireplace lit, the greenery of the Umbrian village of Solomeo around. For the first time together to talk about the man they have in common, the husband, the father as well as the entrepreneur who in just a few decades built a soft empire, made of cashmere, listed on the stock exchange, inventing a business model based on the dignity of work, the so-called ethical capitalism: Brunello Cucinelli, a novel Italian.
Who, now, is also an Italian from the big screen, because it will be released on December 9th Brunello. The visionary polite signed by Giuseppe Tornatorewith music by Nicola Piovania film that required three years of commitment between gestation, filming and editing and which retraces Cucinelli’s story: his peasant family, his cheerful and poor childhood, his adolescence at the bar, his falling in love, his entrepreneurial adventureethical choices, interventions as a patron, international success. The film feels strongly the hand of the Oscar-winning director and it is no coincidence that he was chosen to shoot it.
Carolina: «Initially dad had thought of a documentary film, to leave a legacy for us and the company. Then he entertained the idea of Tornatore, he already knew him and New Cinema Paradiso it was always his favorite movie. However, before deciding, Giuseppe wanted to come to Solomeo with his family for a couple of days».
Federica Benda, Vittoria Stefanelli, Brunello Cucinelli, Penelope Stefanelli, Camilla Cucinelli, Brando Piastrelli, Carolina Cucinelli, Riccardo Stefanelli. Photo: Francesco Rampi
«He was at our house, he wanted to breathe our life. Brunello’s story is very particular, he approached the world of work as an adult, at 25 years old. I fell in love with him because he was crazy. And it still is” rsays his wife Federica.
The “madman” has created an empire that has 130 direct stores worldwideover three thousand employees and a turnover of 1,278.5 million euros (2024 data). Married in 1982, the two became engaged at a very young age together more than 10 decades making the difference in character the bond between the couple: «He says I’m Arthur Schopenhauer’s cousin, but it’s not true, I keep my feet on the ground. I’m not a pessimist, I’m a realist. Brunello has great tenacity, he has always only followed his dreamsis an all-out optimist, often a Don Quixote against windmills. When he came home years ago and told me that he had bought six warehouses to demolish them, with the aim of improving the landscape, I asked myself “What does this guy do? He’s crazy”. But his choices always come from deep within, from his peasant roots.”
The couple’s secret? «Everyone has their own spaces, for example on Sundays he reads on the sofa, or stays silently watching the fire for hours. I have my circle of friends, I go to the cinema, the theatre, I play burraco. Does Brunello say that I am the soul of Solomeo? I like organizing initiatives, appointments; every Friday I meet with other women and we prepare crochet works which we then sell. The proceeds go to charity».
In the film we see a young Brunello with a big hat chasing the bus with Federica on itstudent, with her friends: «We breathed in a lot of carbon monoxide. When I told Tornatore about his strange courtship, I didn’t think he would put it in the film.”
A scene from “Brunello. The polite visionary”. (Photo by Stefano Schirato)
No previews
Films that neither his wife nor Camilla, his eldest daughter, were “able to” see before Thursday 4 December, when he was presented during an evening event in Cinecittà, with more than a thousand guests including Mario Draghi. «I argued with my father, he insisted because he wants me to feel the emotion in that moment. Already seeing the trailer brought a tear to my eyeI was moved by the scene in which the grandfather talks about being humiliated at work.”
Camilla Cucinelli, Carolina Cucinelli, Federica Bendam. Photo: Francesco Rampi
Brunello Cucinelli understood that a soulful film, like Tornatore, would be a valuable driving force for his brand, even abroad. And in fact, after Italy, it will arrive in New York, Paris, London, the Middle East and China: the tour is scheduled for 2026. When the director invited the visionary from Solomeo to see the not yet final film, Brunello had brought a notebook in which to write down any cuts or corrections. Instead he just cried, leaving the pages blank. «I had no doubts, there was too much creative affinity between the two» says Carolina.
His wife Federica: «With the film he wants to leave a poetic testimony for young peoplefor future generations, so that they believe in their dreams. I always say, and I think so: “My life is truly a fairy tale”, I should write a book. I was born here, my family has been in Solomeo for generations. Now Solomeo is famous in the world, once not even Perugia, which is 15 kilometers away, knew it. Solomeo and the territory have been enhanced by Brunello”.
Popular wisdom contained in a well-known proverb reminds us that if a man climbs high, there is always a woman below to hold the ladder for him: Federica did it and admits it by nodding. «Unfortunately, the proverb is not valid in reverse, for a woman» underlines Carolina, who however adds: «Brunello has always surrounded himself with women, he considers them punctual, precise and organised. Here there are no disparities in wages between men and women».
Brunello Cucinelli in Mongolia.
A thousand books (each) to daughters and grandchildren
Camilla and Carolina, nine years apart, today both co-presidents of Brunello Cucinelli Spa, the first also co-head of the women’s style office, the second co-creative director, they had to deal with a cumbersome father with a strong personality. Not only that, but also with the fear of being perceived as “the daughters of”.
«He put us to the test at the beginning, he was rigorousmade us accumulate skills, go around the various departments, from photocopying to sewing. He was visionary in this too. He didn’t want us to be the second generation to arrive and manage” says Camilla. And Carolina: «We had to work harder, not have advantages. Together with my sister we managed to counteract her strong aura, to get an idea of what we wanted. Both our parents were good at making us passionate about the company. Dad is a person who listens, if you propose a different idea to him he doesn’t immediately say no, he thinks about it.”
«One of Brunello’s rules has always been that we didn’t talk about work at home» recalls Mrs. Federica. «Today he is less rigid, he sees that the team is consolidated, he is calmer» says Camilla and admits: «I have always split the figure of Brunello into two parts: the boss and the father. When we were little, when the company was in its infancy, he was away a lot for work, I clung to my suitcase crying “Take me with you, please!”. We missed him so much.”
“Brunello. The polite visionary” by Giuseppe Tornatore, with music by Nicola Piovani, will be released in theaters on December 9th.
As a grandfather of three grandchildren (two girls and a boy) he is a butter. «He is in love with all three. He spoils them and defends them. Even when we were children, our mother was the toughest obstacle. He was good and permissive with us” recalls Carolina. He gave his daughters and granddaughters a thousand books each (to the girls, on the occasion of their weddings). Camilla: «I reread Le disobediente, story of six artists with very troubled lives. And since I would like my two daughters to grow up with an equal idea between men and womenI read to them Bedtime stories for rebellious girls ».
«I instead picked up The Leopard again and The Decameron finding current, surprising things” says Carolina.
Holidays, how annoying
Up to this point, Brunello Cucinelli seems free from defects. And yet (fortunately) it has some. «Sometimes he is prejudiced, he takes rigid positions, but then he reasons and respects other people’s choices» confesses Carolina, the daughter who resembles him most in character between the two, according to her parents, while Camilla is softer, more diplomatic.
«Among us there is the topic of holidays that divides us» says Mrs. Federica. «He would never do it. He gives me two weeks in the summer and one in March, to ski. Brunello is difficult to harness. He should have been an actor.” Or the priest (he tried to stay in the seminary, but missed his mother), or the teacher, or the mentor, or the democratic leader. He has “fallen back” on being the Visionary of the Third Millennium. Always on stage, always in the spotlight. Like an actor precisely. Now also on the big screen.