FABRICS

The Loro Piana family began as wool merchants as far back as the early 1800s, and were owners of two mills by turn of the century.

Loro Piana the company was organized in 1924. Headquartered in Quarona, northern Italy, the company produces some of the finest and most sought after cloths in the world. The meticulous attention to detail from the earliest stages of their production process is legendary. Loro Piana controls each stage of their process to ensure their quality standards are upheld. Perusing their broad range of cloth options demonstrates why they’re regarded as the high standard in the industry for excellence.

Simply put, Loro Piana is top to bottom the finest maker of woolen suit fabric in the world. The company originated from the Loro Piana family of Trivero, in the early 1800’s and its modern form was established by son Pietro in 1924 when the company was relocated to Valsesia and by 1940, his son Franco had moved the Loro Piana name into the international market. In a short time the company had established a reputation as supplier of fabrics for the post-war phenomenon known as “haute couture”.

Loro Piana has developed one of the largest supply networks of raw materials for their fabrics, ranging from the highest quality Cashmere from China and Mongolia, where they developed Baby Cashmere, to the high meadows of the Andes, reaching suppliers of hair from the rare vicuna, and finally the pastures of New Zealand and Australia, where they are the world’s largest buyer of merino wool.

These fine materials are then shipped to Loro Piana’s workshops in Italy to be woven into some of the highest quality textiles in the world, and then sold to premier suit makers such as Sodhi for wear by the most discerning clients.

We highly recommend their luxurious, heavy weight flannels and magnificent cashmere jacketing.

The young entrepreneur Ermenegildo Zegna founded the Lanificio Zegna ( wool mill ) in 1910 at the age of 18, in Trivero, Italy.

Located in the Alpine foothills near Biella, Ermenegildo began to produce fabrics using four looms. In his own words, these fabrics had to be “the most beautiful in the world.” Today, Zegna fabrics are still one of Italy’s most acclaimed exports, identified internationally by a red seal.

Ermenegildo had an international vision, ahead of his time, to source the best quality natural fibres, directly from their country of origin innovation in product and in the production process and promotion of the brand. This vision laid the foundations for a fully vertically integrated company and one of Italy’s most acclaimed family driven enterprises.

The Zegna Wool Mill has been the backbone of the company’s success and is renowned internationally for the world’s finest textiles. Four generations of the Zegna family have led the success in textiles, through innovation, carefully balancing science with nature and craftsmanship with technology.

The complete production process is carried out by Ermenegildo Zegna – from raw material selection to finishing. Commitment to quality and the use of modern technology to back up artisan craftsmanship is the living tradition linking past, present and future.

Over the last hundred years, the Lanificio has pioneered sophisticated men’s fabrics to become lighter, softer, more refined and with an improved performance and functionality. Consequently, new fabric standards have been set and new construction methods have emerged in the luxury men’s tailoring and casual industries.

In an area steeped in an ancient weaving tradition where pristine waters flow, the Fratelli Tallia di Delfino wool came into being in 1903.

The world renowned brand is highly regarded for its high-end menswear fabric and recognized world-wide for its mastery in the production of the finest luxury suit cloth.

Established in 1663, Vitale Barberis Canonico has remained a family owned business for 15 generations and is the oldest woolen mill in the world.

For over 3 and a half centuries, VBC has been in continuous operation, never shutting its doors throughout that time. Headquartered in Northern Italy, VBC does all operations in-house, from the procurement of raw wool, through the many stages of production that lead to the finished product.

The process starts with the selection of merino wool from Australia, which is subjected to a powerful wash followed by carding and combing. This results in what is called top, which are re-combed to discard any unwanted fibers. Spinning is the next stage, where the top is drawn and twisted into yarn, preparing it for dyeing. Yarn can be top-dyed (the most common option), yarn dyed (typically done for small or urgent jobs), or piece dyed. Next it goes to warping, which these days is done at VBC by the most modern technology available. Warping sets the vertical threads, and weaving adds the horizontal threads which pass over and under the verticals, depending on the desired weave and decoration of the cloth. Any defects that may have occurred to this point are corrected during the mending stage, with each imperfection being corrected by hand. Lastly the cloth goes to finishing, where the surface of the cloth is defined in terms of its sheen and nap. Summer and perennial cloths retain their sheen while winter cloths are washed and milled.

VBC has been creating great cloth for several centuries, resulting in many awards for excellence along the way. They make cloth not only for their own branded cloth, but also for other mills and merchants that market the cloth under other names, making Vitale Barberis Canonico perhaps the most important player in the industry.

Scabal has sold only the finest of fabrics made from the best raw materials.

Pleasant to touch, refined style and traditional craftsmanship are the characteristics of Scabal fabrics. Unlike the others on the list, Scabal (Société Commerciale Anglo Belgo Allemande Luxembourgeoise) is a cloth merchant rather than a mill. Whereas a mill might stick with the same classic patterns and colours year after year, a merchant like Scabal has a full design team that examine trends and innovate constantly. For example, Scabal carry over 5,000 designs at any one time and rotate a proportion of them every season.

Of the plethora of designs carried by Scabal, their reputation is for particularly fine worsted in high Super numbers in both jacketing and suitings. The Super 180’s Obsession collection is composed of wool from the exclusive Scabal Noble Wool Club and is offered in a variety of striking designs.

Ariston – a lifestyle collection – appreciated by the executive and offered to a exclusive class of clientele which only seek the best Italian cloth.

Ariston is a family-run operation based just outside of Naples, the heart of style, elegance, where they produce incredibly high quality wool.
They produce only a small number of different cloths — usually less than a dozen per season, renewed every few months, the fabric produced comes in a wide range of compositions and fibres: wool, mohair, silk, cashmere, cotton, and linen. The entire collection of around 550 shades is changed every season.

Ariston is known for its Italian flair with bright, crisp colours, and unique patterns. Smooth and comfortable, yet appropriate for everyday wear,