When you think of luxury fabrics, one name rises above the rest: Loro Piana.
For nearly a century, this legendary Italian mill has been synonymous with luxurious fabrics.
Founded in 1924 in the heart of Italy’s textile region, Loro Piana has built a reputation as the global standard for fine wool and cashmere.
In 2013, the brand entered a new era when it was acquired by LVMH, expanding far beyond the fabric industry.
Yet, despite its evolution, Loro Piana remains firmly rooted in its heritage: creating fabrics that epitomize timeless elegance.
This is the story of how a family business from Biella became the pinnacle of luxury.
Loro Piana’s History
Like many Italian fabric mills, the story of Loro Piana starts in Biella.
Biella is a mountainous region directly west of Milan where the woolen fabric industry has been thriving for over 800 years.
The mountains not only create protected plains for grazing sheep, but the melting snow of the Alps forms pure streams that make up the “sweet water” used to wash and finish the wool.
It was here that the Loro Piana family began selling wool in the early 1800s.
After finding success in selling finished cloth, the family climbed the production ladder, founding their own spinning mill to make yarns.
Pietro Loro Piana
The spinning mill started by Giacamo Loro Piana and his son, Pietro, was called Fratelli Lora e Compagnia, and was established in a town north of Biella called Quarona, where Loro Piana still makes their yarns today.
The family soon expanded operations, opening their own fabric weaving mill, Lanificio di Quarona di Zignone & Co.
Then in 1924, at the age of 41, Pietro started the Loro Piana brand we know today, weaving luxury wool and cashmere,
An engineer by trade, Pietro brought precision and efficiency to the weaving process, building a reputation for high-quality fabrics sold all throughout Italy.
Franco Loro Piana
While Pietro laid the foundation, it was his nephew Franco who propelled the company to new heights.
Franco Loro Piana, his brother Sergio, and their sister Lucia began to expand the mill’s reach outside the borders of Italy.
Tailors throughout Europe, the United States and Japan soon recognized the never-ending quest of the Loro Piana family to achieve the highest quality wool possible and became obsessed with the mill.
Franco also began traveling to China to buy cashmere in the 1960s and soon, Loro Piana’s reputation became cemented for offering the highest quality wool in cashmere available.
Pier Luigi & Sergio Loro Piana
In the 1970s, Franco’s sons, Pier Luigi and Sergio Loro Piana took the reins and vertically integrated the company to own the entire production process.
Under their leadership, Loro Piana was able to design fabric, wash and process the wool, spin into yarns, dye it and weave it, without relying on any outside firms.
This approach elevated Loro Piana to new heights, with their fabrics gracing the collections of Yves Saint Laurent and Giorgio Armani.
But the brothers wanted more.
Keeping up with their father’s mission to make the highest quality fabrics, Pier Luigi and Sergio expanded their relationships with wool farmers in Australia and New Zealand.
In 1997, in an attempt to always find the highest quality wool in the world, they introduced the Record Bale Award.
The award is given to the farmers who can produce the highest Super Number, or rather thinnest Average Fiber Diameter (AFD), and has been awarded every year since, with the exception of ’20 & ’21 because of COVID-19.
Says Pier Luigi, “The award was never about simply setting a record, it was instrumental in proving that we could evolve and improve the fibers to reach superior quality,”
Expansion in to Ready to wear
Soon after the creation of the Record Bale Award, Loro Piana began a new trajectory into ready-to-wear items.
No longer just selling fabric, in 1999, Loro Piana opened up its first store in Milan.
Starting off exclusively with their core business, cashmere and fine wool, the company expanded into accessories like baseball hats, shoes and even ski goggles.
Acquisition by LVMH
In 2013, the Loro Piana family sold 80% of its company to Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy, cementing their reputation as the pinnacle of luxury.
Since the acquisition, Loro Piana has ventured into leather goods, which is now their fastest growing category.
But one of the largest changes LVMH has made is to make Loro Piana more contemporary, such as producing items that reflect modern styles rather than classic silhouettes.
While the ready-to-wear items Loro Piana produces may change, their fabrics continue to represent classic style, that is never outdated.
