Talbinio Berluti

At the age of 14, Talbinio learnt the family job, while studying architecture. Father and son had complimentary roles: Talbinio, intellectual, imaginative and Torello, the hardworking craftsman.

Talbinio sketched his designs everywhere: in restaurants, on paper tablecloths, in notebooks, on book covers. His father worked with his hands, like a sculptor. He too was a man of designs- outlines, sketches and ideas. In the early forties, together they originated laced mocassins, which would become one of the Maison Berluti's iconic emblems.

In 1959, Talbinio launched luxury ready-to-wear shoes. With the innovation of luxury ready-to-wear shoes and their more affordable prices, the Maison Berluti was able to attract a clientele of creative young artists with more limited means. Because of the ready-to-wear collection, a greater number of people were able to wear Berluti footwear, which in turn enabled Berluti to expand.