Berluti offers traditional quality with modern styling in full bespoke service

French shoemaker Berluti turns 120 this year, and in its recent history has seen quite a transformation. The brand, which was founded by Italian Alessandro Berluti in Paris in 1895, was taken into the LVMH fold in 1993.

In 2011, CEO Antoine Arnault appointed Alessandro Sartori, another Italian, and one of menswear's brightest, most inventive designers, as artistic director. This heralded a new chapter for Berluti.

The resulting reinvention made Berluti one of the hottest names in men's fashion, and the only label to introduce full men's ready-to-wear and an entirely bespoke full men's wardrobe, right down to the shoes.

Sartori was in Hong Kong last month to host an intimate spring-summer 2015 trunk show for the well-heeled men of the city. He also introduced a limited line of Alessandro shoes, which are a new take on the brand's traditional lace-ups.

The deep, jewel-toned patinas that are a Berluti signature remain, as do the long, elegant lasts. But he has also modernised the shoe collection with luxury sneakers and boots.

"I'm fortunate to be in the best place I could be," the Biella-born designer says of this role, sitting on a dark leather couch in the Landmark Prince's store in Central, a beautifully curated space reeking of old world masculinity.

Sartori elaborates: "As a designer, to be able to give a sketch directly to the master shoemaker or master tailor, who then realises the product sample from the beginning to the end, is amazing," he says.