Upscale clothier Brunello Cucinelli launched a new ecommerce site, conceived and delivered using Callimacus, a proprietary platform that Solomeo AI developed.
Solomeo AI is the retailer’s in-house ecommerce project, named after the Italian city where it is headquartered. Callimacus will use artificial intelligence (AI) to help discern user intent and deliver a real-time, personalized shopping experience to the retailer’s upscale audience.
The Solomeo-built site now offers a field for customer prompts, such as inquiries about products that may fit specific contexts and needs.
In a LinkedIn post, the retailer cheered the new ecommerce platform: “We believe this invention will play a decisive role in supporting the company’s growth, both in terms of brand image and revenue.”
And AI, it said, will lead the way. Brunello Cucinelli has made entreaties online in the past, for instance, working with Salesforce. Now, it hopes Callimacus will be part of its permanent move into ecommerce.
Why Brunello Cucinelli launched its new ecommerce platform
“For years we envisioned a new ecommerce platform, combining our desire to welcome our esteemed ‘online guests’ with the most promising technological innovations, and our own way of thinking — in the belief that artificial intelligence must remain deeply human,” Brunello Cucinelli’s LinkedIn post stated.
Representatives from Brunello Cucinelli did not return a request for comment, but other industry insiders said this move is on brand for the retailer.
Justin Baer, founder and CEO of the upscale menswear brand Collars & Co., said most mainstream brands optimize digital purely for conversion, emphasizing faster checkout, fewer steps and more urgency — but that luxury is different.
“For a brand like Cucinelli, ecommerce is not just a sales channel,” Baer said. “It is an extension of the brand’s philosophy and how they want people to feel.”
He added that an AI-driven experience that adapts to the customer’s intent — instead of pushing everyone through the same funnel — is much closer to how luxury sells in real life.
“In-store, the best luxury salespeople are intuitive, conversational, and slow things down in a good way,” Baer explained. “This is trying to replicate that digitally.”
What makes an ecommerce site successful for a luxury brand
Baer assessed that even if Brunello Cucinelli’s new experience converts less efficiently in the short term, it could still increase brand affinity, lifetime value and willingness to pay full price.
“That matters a lot more in luxury than squeezing out another point of conversion rate,” Baer said. Moreover, he noted that it reinforces the brand’s idea that technology should feel human, not transactional.
“In a world where AI is often about cutting costs and speeding things up, using it to deepen experience and storytelling is a smart positioning move,” Baer stated.
He observed that a retailer doesn’t need to win on pure conversion metrics to be successful.
“If it strengthens the emotional moat around the brand, it’s doing exactly what it should,” he explained.
The new site’s use of AI
Belinda Jacobs, founder of the design and product development services firm Techpacks.co, said that Brunello Cucinelli is playing to its strengths, especially for luxury menswear. There, the buying decision is often emotional and detail-driven.
“If AI is used well here, it can create a more ‘high-touch’ digital experience: better discovery, smarter product matching, and stronger storytelling without losing that premium, curated feel the brand is known for,” Jacobs said.
“From a broader men’s apparel perspective, I think this signals that even heritage luxury brands are treating digital as a primary storefront again and not just a support channel,” Jacobs says.
She also pointed out that the move can showcase features that may influence customer relationships going forward.
“Expectations will rise across the board — not only for personalization, but for fit guidance, customer service and inventory visibility,” she said. “Brands that don’t invest in better digital infrastructure will start to feel outdated fast.”
Long-term value for the site
Giovanne Bordone, a senior lecturer and course leader in Fashion Marketing at London Metropolitan University, said the launch of the Callimacus project is surely very interesting and a carefully curated digital tool in tune with Brunello Cucinelli’s clientele. However, he said at this stage, he believes it is difficult to understand if it can be a real revolution for the entire luxury fashion ecommerce sector. Alternatively, it could turn out to be a refined marketing tool without lasting implications for the industry at large.
“So far, to me it seems a new way of showcasing ecommerce products in harmony with a demanding clientele — so an innovation but certainly not a disruption,” Bordone said.
He added that if the company wants to really make waves, they could pair Callimacus with the potential for clients to design each and every item produced ad personam based on their preferences, requests and body measurements.
“So not just an innovative digital tool to market products online but also a way for clients to receive individually crafted products based on their specific requests,” he explained. “This, in my opinion, could be the real disruptor for the luxury ecommerce sector. Callimacus is just an interesting digital marketing tool but, so far, very distant from revolutionizing the entire luxury fashion digital sector.”
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