What’s luxury at its core?
Designers — and their finance bosses — have been asking themselves this question increasingly lately, at a time when courting the ultra-high-net-worth customer seems to be the single most effective move to keep the industry going.
Umit Benan has always let his tailored, sumptuous collections do the talking. But he did have a proper answer on Friday as he unveiled his spring collection at his Milan showroom.
“It’s like a Sunday morning feeling, when everything is just so good. It’s all and only about the way clothes make you feel,” he said.
It could sound vague, albeit poetic, until you get to see — and most importantly touch — his latest creations.
Take, for instance, a knitted polo shirt in a silk and linen blend done in a handsome baby pink tone: There was a subtle fluffiness to it that was deceptive to the eye and alluring in its tactility. Or a straightforward coach jacket, lightly padded, in buttery yellow silk with a lightweight hand, like the most comfortable pillow you can select from the menu of luxury hotels. It also revealed a silk lining — no skimping on fabrics at Benan.
The blazers cut just-so slightly loose, the crisp silk pajama pants dignified by their sartorial cut, the offbeat styling of a Cuban shirt with a tightly knotted necktie, and the worn-in and meaty suede jackets were all swaggering and familiar Benan tropes which he — a true perfectionist — continues to update.
“My only goal is quality and that requires time, it cannot be achieved in the six months between two collections. I have the ambition to create products that will remain landmarks of the brand for at least the next 10 years,” Benan said.
Attuned to his clients’ needs, he has followed his gut since rebooting the brand in 2022: avoiding trend cycles, launching womenswear and then pausing it, opening his first store in Milan a year ago, and, most recently, seeking new doors Stateside despite the fashion business’ overall shaky performance.
He can afford that luxury. He has UHNWIs who splurge on 10s of 450-euro-each T-shirts and four-figure blazers, as well as socks, sold in sets of three for 1,000 euros. The latter must be peerless.
