In the hushed elegance of Paris’s 8th arrondissement, where the Simone & Cino Del Duca Foundation presides over Parc Monceau with stoic grace, Berluti unveiled its latest masterstroke: the Mont Thabor line. Named after the street where Alessandro Berluti’s son Torello opened the Maison’s first Paris boutique in the 1920s, the new collection is a contemporary homage to more than 130 years of shoemaking savoir-faire.

The presentation, aptly titled “Champ-contrechamp”—a cinematic reference to shot/reverse shot—was conceived as a layered narrative, inviting guests to traverse the historic townhouse while slipping between perspectives on craft, heritage, and innovation. A game of shifting perception unfolds floor by floor, each space a chapter in Berluti’s evolving story.

Upon entry, guests were met by a monumental sculpture of a foot—a nod to the Maison’s scientific devotion to fit and form. With 28 bones and over 100 ligaments, the foot is more than anatomical; it is architectural, and Berluti reads it like a blueprint. Beneath the statue lay artisan measurement sheets, maps of the body’s foundation that speak to Berluti’s legacy of bespoke precision.

That precision extended into the Cordovan Room, where tanned hides and legacy tools testified to the lineage of Italian craftsmanship. Named for the rare leather and its ancient guild, the room paid tribute to the material that shaped Berluti’s rise—from Torello to Talbinio, each generation built a language of leather, cut and dyed to perfection.

Upstairs, the Maison’s signature Scritto leather emerged in a room designed like a study, its laser-etched calligraphy—sourced from an 18th-century notarized deed—appearing on everything from oxford lace-ups to overcoats. The poetic gesture linked the artisanal with the archival, reinforcing Berluti’s reputation for intellectual elegance.

Further along, the Jour de Poche bag line offered a burst of playfulness and color. Sized like a paperback and styled like a hybrid between a Japanese inrō and a luxury satchel, these compact companions brought Berluti’s signature Venezia leather into a new realm of casual sophistication. Meanwhile, in the Salon Orange, the featherweight Shadow sneaker playfully referenced Magritte with the line: “Ceci n’est pas une charentaise”. The sneaker’s fusion of technical mesh and shoemaker elegance exemplified Berluti’s design ethos: comfort without compromise.

But the star of the story remains the Mont Thabor loafer. A reinvention of the classic Alessandro shoe—with a square toe, new black patinas, and sleek silhouette—the model is not just a nod to the past, but a push into the Maison’s next chapter. Berluti artisans reportedly studied more than 1,000 shades of black, perfecting a finish with exceptional depth and gleam. It’s both an icon and innovation, timeless yet modern.

As visitors lingered in the Grand Salon or drifted onto the terrace for a final view of the garden, Berluti’s message was clear: style is not just what you wear, but how you move through the world.