Why Does This Sweater Cost $4,925?

From his idyllic hilltop perch in Italy’s Umbria region, Brunello Cucinelli has created a new model for luxury consumption that’s good for the soul. But everything comes at a price

- Eric Wilson

In the rarefied world of Brunello Cucinelli, the king of Italian cashmere, it is hardly uncommon to encounter a price tag that soars well into four figures. For nearly 40 years the designer has borne a reputation for crafting luxury sportswear and high-quality knits that come with a timeless and ageless appeal— and also eye-popping prices. But that is a subject Cucinelli prefers to approach, like all things in his life, from a philosophical point of view.

“What is the cost of dignity?” he asks one afternoon from behind a spotless desk in his company’s headquarters in the Umbrian hamlet of Solomeo, a medieval hilltop village so tiny that virtually every building and person is connected to the Cucinelli enterprise in some manner. “Do you respect the people who are making your products? Where are they made? And how?”

A tall gentleman with a casual-chic style that seems well suited to his still boyishly handsome, studiously scruffy features, the 64-year-old speaks like a conductor, using his entire body. He places a sheet of white paper before him and draws a vertical line down the middle of it to organize the thoughts taking shape in his mind, on this occasion weighing the pleasures of indulgence against the dangers of gluttony in the age of fast fashion.

“There are 80 billion garments produced every year,” he says. “So there are two roads we can take in the future. We can make a very industrial product, always cheaper, in any part of the world—and I think there’s just too much of that in the market. Or we can make expensive, recognizable designs with incredible craftsmanship and details. That’s the road I intend to follow.”