20 years together for Gianfranco Zilioli and Gianluca Brugnoli. Two decades of activity with the L.Brummel shop, in via Sopramuro in Piacenza, but at least 26 of shared activity:
“We met in Pellizzari – says Gianfranco – I had already been in the shop in via Verdi for a few years, when Mr Giorgio announced to me that Gianluca would start working with us. Oh no! I said He’s the one who always comes and never buys anything… I didn’t like him, but I had to change my mind. In fact, from there a great friendship and an important working synergy was born, which still lasts today”.
Good, nice, empathetic; theirs is not a shop, it is much more. A place of meeting, sharing, a temple of elegance and style. They have dressed and still dress half of Piacenza (and beyond) with rigor and seriousness, but also with the lightness and irony that make them unique.
THE PELLIZZARI SCHOOL A master, an example, a reference. When they talk about Giorgio Pellizzari they do so with gratitude and not without emotion. Gianluca Brugnoli and Gianfranco Zilioli learned the trade in what is still today a historic shop for clothing and elegance in Piacenza. A professional and life gym that remains as a solid root for a path then developed autonomously and with a completely new and unmarked identity. A lesson that remains the basis of very high professionalism.
Welcoming the customer, first of all, with a smile and the willingness to show the shop’s offer without pressure to purchase. And then the ability to offer a unique style, which follows fashions, but which can at the same time express everyone’s personality.
Thus, thanks to this wealth of skills, L. Brummel’s adventure began. Important clothes, for work, for ceremonies, but also for free time “The tailoring part of the shop, therefore suits and shirts, remains our strong point – recalls Brugnoli – and in this we are able to offer quality solutions at a price reasonable.”
“The thing that gives us the most satisfaction – says Gianfranco – is seeing that the new generation also turns to us. The children of our customers, who perhaps accompanied their father to the store to make a purchase, come back to us independently and, alongside sweatshirts and jeans, they gladly accept our advice for an elegant suit, gradually developing their own taste.”
LIGHTNESS, BUT ALSO LOTS OF COMMITMENT Between the serious and the facetious, let’s briefly retrace the history of a Piacenza commercial reality that never gave in, but which still suffered, like everyone else, the repercussions of the crises of the last 20 years.
“We too have gone through all the difficulties of these last, intense 20 years,” recalls Brugnoli, who is also president. of Federmoda Piacenza and the Vita in Centro Committee – however, we never gave in, on the contrary, we relaunched, renewing ourselves. New shop, new ways of working, new challenges. We reinvested in the spaces, moving to a more functional, completely renovated location, but we also followed the customers’ requests. Our work also takes place outside the store, online, but not only. We move physically, we reach those who ask us, those who have tight deadlines and cannot shop in the traditional way.” Alongside fair requests and claims, there is also the idea of a trader who knows how to intercept new needs and new ideas, beyond the easy complaint, which in the end leads to nothing.
20 YEARS, A BIG PARTY And therefore a party could not be missing, a big party for L.Brummel’s 20th birthday. It will take place on Thursday 23 May from 8.00 pm at ALIUM in Piacenza in via Cortesi. Invited (about 150) and co-protagonists together with Gianluca and Gianfranco will be the customers, who are also friends, and the friends, who are also customers. A virtuous circle that feeds on trust, sympathy, affection and esteem. “Our customers also come to us for a chat – explains Brugnoli – to relax in company or to share an important moment in life with us. I’m thinking of a dress for a wedding, for graduation, for a ceremony that marks a unique and significant phase of the family.”
A non-frivolous step, a choice that contributes to making that day something special, which will remain forever. And that the right dress will also help make it so.
WHO IS LORD BRUMMEL PIACENTINO? Considered the archetype of male elegance, the “dandy” par excellence, the icon of unrivaled style, George Bryan Brummel (1778-1840) therefore inspired the creative and commercial project of Gianluca and Gianfranco. An example of taste that goes beyond the idea of brands or fashion labels.
And therefore the final question, the most difficult, could not be missing. Who do you think is Lord Brummel from Piacenza?
Not at all in difficulty, Gianluca replies without hesitation, with Gianfranco’s approval
“The Lord Brummel of Piacenza is Paolo Contini, without a shadow of a doubt, you don’t know him? He is the most elegant man in town. He is the true dandy: panama hat, cane, linen in the right season, never out of place. He is the one who fully embodies the spirit of Lord Brummel” But what does it mean to be elegant today?
“Elegant means paired correctly with taste (which seems a bit like a culinary slogan..). In reality – continues Gianluca – we have many really elegant customers and so are the guys who have different looks from the more traditional ones and who perhaps wear trousers with cuffs, sneakers and an open linen shirt”.
In short, the important thing is to have a non-standardized style and remember that elegance is a sign of respect for oneself and others. And in fact, even for the May 23rd celebration, Gianluca and Granfranco were clear, almost peremptory; and on the poster they specify “elegance is welcome..” Certainly not the tuxedo, but in any case attention that is in line with the (beautiful) spirit of the evening.
