Brunello Cucinelli Raises Forecast

There are luxury brands doing well in an increasingly treacherous luxury landscape. Italy’s Brunello Cucinelli group, known for its cashmere classics, raised the forecast for its 2026 business to 12% growth off its 2025 actual of $1.57 billion.

“We believe that the brand’s image around the world reflects what we have always aspired to: a belief in absolute luxury,” the company’s eponymous founder and executive chairman said.

Models Alain Gossuin, Alicja Tubilewicz, Heather Diamond Strongarm and Liam Kelly are styled by Lorenzo Mariucci and Michaela Buratti in the Fall/Winter 2026 Brunello Cucinelli [IG] Campaign, lensed by Aussie photographer Daniel Archer [IG].

Returning to Brunello Cucinelli’s performance, which rose 17% in the third quarter on new store openings [six so far in 2026] and positive organic traffic, including more time customers spend in boutiques. It’s important to note the difficulty of analyzing of precisely why sales are moving upwards for a brand like Brunello Cucinelli — when the market itself is difficult in the luxury brand universe.

Markers like the time customers are spending in stores from Chanel to Dior to Brunello Cucinelli to Louis Vuitton are excellent indicators of the mood of luxury clients. Brunello Cucinelli clients are pushing that needle higher and higher.

Morningstar believes the brand’s shares are overvalued due to the brand’s lack of a strong accessories offering, and that is a valid challenge.

A Great Bag Always Helps

However, the brand’s BC Duo Tote Bag — a signature of the brand and a creation by Cucinelli’s daughters is a heavy driver in the robust performance. Because the large structured BC Duo Tote became such a commercial staple for everyday professional wear, Cucinelli successfully expanded the franchise into micro and miniature charm sizes. This strategy mimics how traditional luxury houses scale their best-selling ‘it bags,’ proving that the tote has graduated to a long-term core accessory line for the house.

It seems that management is moving quickly and aggressively to sell the BC duo tote in khaki suede, and a highcraft ‘techno raffia’ version, along with new firebrick red tones for the bag.