By Matthew Schneier
Cerruti, despite its noble history, has struggled in recent years. Following founder Nino Cerruti, a succession of designers has passed through its doors, from the famous (Narciso Rodriguez, Richard Nicoll) to the lesser known. The latest to take the helm is Aldo Maria Camillo, an Italian-born veteran of Valentino menswear, who has been given charge of the men’s collection Cerruti 1881 (1881 being the year the Cerruti family’s fabric mill was founded). After years of Cerruti presenting without fanfare, Cerruti 1881 finds itself back on the catwalk, complete with a front row filled with European celebrities and an aggressive marketing campaign to get the word out.
It’s no secret that heritage can be a millstone around the neck of a designer. Camillo, now in his third season, doesn’t seem under any illusions about that. “We have to reach into the past to catch a bit of Cerruti,” he said. His debut collection last January captured a bit of the unforced elegance of Cerruti in its halcyon days.
