With the introduction of these £1000 trainers, Berluti (for me) has officially entered the realm of full on fashion company and has completely left the idea of what it means to be classic (even classic with a twist). Don’t get me wrong, I like trainers and think that every man should have a “grown man” version (leather, minimalistic etc) in their closet but to charge £1000 for them is quite absurd. Now, I will go off and say that the amount of leather that is actually on this trainer is more than that of a dress shoe and keeping in tune with production costs, is probably aligned (justified) when compared to that of the production of a dress shoe. But then again, £1300 for one of their blake-stitched shoes is a bit ridiculous in my mind too. But hey, that’s their prerogative. One thing that I do love about the French though, is their ability to create exclusivity and trick people into believing that this exclusivity coupled with the fact that it is French and expensive, means that it is worth every penny. So clever. But I guess the watch industry is like this too. You have to appreciate and respect clever marketing and few do it better than the French fashion companies. Fair play. But £1000 sneakers? That’s silly, just as all of Louboutin’s shoes for men are….
The first time I saw the price on these sneakers I thought it was a typo! But no… well, If there’s a market, cudos to them for creating it. I’de love to build a 100(maybe 150) pair of shoes and sell it for a cool Grand! Wouldn’t you? lol…
Shamefully Berluti does not seem to have the success they wish they had and, in my opinion, they are really overpriced versus the quality. In my 130 or so pairs including quite a few JFF 🙂 and high end names … not a Berluti in sight!
I agree Justin, these cost waaay too much. However, I saw a pair at the Berluti NYC Boutique this past summer and I must say that they are absolutely gorgeous! I probably would have dropped $200, maybe $300 USD, but there was no way I was going to pay what they were priced at, which I think was in the neighborhood of $1600-1800 USD.
well said and great article, unfortunately berluti started this mess in my opinion when they ventured into the clothing business and now this trainer!!! It’s a shame really
No f-n way…Darn ugly as well if you ask me…
So nouveau riche! Berluti is the attention whore of the shoemaking industry.
What is wrong with 1000 pounds trainers? When you buy 20 000 pounds mink lined cashmere bomber jacket why not couple it with it, or with ones of crock leather? Luxury is luxury. You have mentioned expensive watches, the same is with cars, real estate and off course fashion. It’s good to have other options that are cheaper and still of a high quality.
i see your point…there is luxury that is well made and luxury is simply name paid….i hate the latter….that’s just me
Tangential question .. the biggest French shoe company is JM Weston, do you think their shoes are worth the money Justin? They are certainly expensive vs. most of our English shoe brands, apart from perhaps Lobb, E Green and G&G. Circa 600 notes or so …
a sneaker like this is not a easy or cheap shoe to build. If its construction might not seem as complex as Blake stitched or Goodwear welted, it has many work on clicking and closing stages, and uses more leather (very expensive leather) than a dress shoes. Apart the fact of the historic brand grabed in the box, with his owner LMVH group
the leather on those is not as great as you think….look at one close up and you will see….and there is not that much closing either…they are very big pieces of leather….just saying
Weston makes a great shoe, well made, using good leather and very refined. I am not that crazy about the balance of their lasts, but the price seems justified to me, yes