Humble beginnings for a company that is today considered the world's largest manufacturer of cashmere, and its most important purchaser of fine wool. The Loro Piana family started out as wool merchants at the beginning of the 19th century, but it was Pietro's engineering background and entrepreneurialism at a time of industrial change that laid the foundations for the greatness that was to come. When his nephew Franco took over in , the younger Loro Piana introduced the company's precious cloths to a rapidly expanding international market; soon high-end designers and manufacturers in Paris, America and even Japan were using its 'Made in Italy' materials.
As such, Loro Piana has supplied the yarn and fabrics for some of fashion's era-defining collections, from Yves Saint Laurent's chic knits to Giorgio Armani's s power suits. Franco's sons, Pier Luigi and Sergio, took over the company in the s and pushed this legacy further into luxury retail via the brand's own finished products. Fashion is becoming a world without south, north, east or west," says Pier Luigi, who is now deputy chairman. In an unusual set-up, the two brothers alternated as company president, each holding the post for three years, before Sergio's death in While Loro Piana's foundations remain in northern Italy, where it runs more than 10 highly specialised manufacturing sites — including a quality-control laboratory in Roccapietra that is the largest of its kind — the company takes a decidedly global stance.
It has international stores, from Aspen to Capri, and takes pains to safeguard rare textile traditions and the finest raw materials from around the world. The deputy chairman is charismatic to the core, with swept-back grey hair, a neat moustache and a tailored wardrobe, all of which lend him an air of old-time nobility.
Investment pieces, or 'ultra luxury', have indeed become by words for the Loro Piana label. A visit to its flagship store on Milan's elegant Via Montenapoleone feels like an education in prestige fabrics — and the provenance of each sounds like the stuff of folklore. There are sweaters spun from baby cashmere, obtained by hand from the under-fleece of Mongolian Hircus goat kids; one such sweater requires the gentle combing of 19 kids. Others are made from the undyed wool of the Pecora Nera, a sheep whose fleece was only returned to its original black colour after 20 years of selective breeding in New Zealand.
Made-to-measure suits are tailored from Tasmanian, a light wool fabric named after the island south of Australia that provides the perfect habitat for rare-breed merino sheep. Created in the s, the worsted material was inspired by the label's Priest Cloth, produced especially for ecclesiastical robes.
Wearing a Tasmanian suit, therefore, gives you good reason to feel blessed. At Loro Piana, pride of place is given to a superior and extremely rare material made from the fine-haired, golden under-fleece of the vicuna.
Known as the 'Queen of the Andes', this slender animal — a relative of the llama, also indigenous to South America — was believed by the Incas to be sacred, with magical powers granted by the gods. In ancient times, the golden fleece of the vicuna was reserved for Inca emperors, but by the 16th century the animal was extensively hunted by the Spanish conquistadors. The Reserva Dr Franco Loro Piana was opened in , giving the precious beasts 2, hectares of land to roam freely.
This is luxury, because if somebody can select the best cashmere and the cost doesn't matter, that's a big privilege. If you had any doubt about Loro Piana's commitment to excellence, look to its annual Record Bale award, which pits the best Australian and New Zealand woolgrowers against each other, with the aim of finding the world's most luxurious merino wool.
It's usually minuscule differences — tenths of microns — that determine the prize-winning bales, from which Loro Piana creates limited collections of suiting fabrics. Such is the company's reputation that it is often sought out to spearhead unusual projects supporting rare textile traditions. This was the case with the ancient practice of producing rare fibres from lotus flowers.
Remarkably, yarns are produced by extracting tiny filaments from the stems of the sacred plant by hand. So I sent it to my tailor to make a blazer. It was so comfortable, so special, that I said I wanted to manufacture it: yarn, fabric, everything. It's all done by hand, including the movement of the machinery. The protection of this intricate process, which yields only 50 metres of prized lotus flower fabric per month, is indicative of Pier Luigi's approach to a changing textile industry.
He had this idea not to compromise quality for cheaper technology. He had a great long-term view, and he was right. As the latest addition to LVMH, Loro Piana can benefit from powerful synergies while staying true to its legacy and traditions.
Loro Piana Play video. Separate the addresses with a comma. Identity Originally from Trivero in northern Italy, the Loro Piana family began trading wool in the early s. Outlook Loro Piana joined the LVMH group at the end of with the aim of preserving its unique heritage and spirit in a perspective of fulfilling its significant future potential. Key figures 9 production sites owned by Loro Piana, all located in Italy. Loro Piana on social media. Louis Vuitton. Display list of Houses.
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