Loro Piana marks 100 years this year, celebrating with an SS25 collection honouring its archives, exclusive launches and a collaborative workshop taking over Harrods. Its heritage and evolution is so interesting that we wanted to delve into its rich, century-long history and look at how the house has stayed on top of the luxury game, 100 years on.
1800sThe Loro Piana family starts out as a wool supplier
It all began in northern Piedmont (a north-west Italian region that borders with France and Switzerland), where local shepherds spun and sold the clean, pure wool of their sheep through centuries. The farmers would gather chestnuts to dye and oil the wool.
1924Pietro Loro Piana opens his first modern mill
The northern Piedmont region gained clout for its wool expertise and the technical advances of the time led to modern mechanised mills. In 1924, Pietro Loro Piana opened his first textile mill.
1926-30sLoro Piana starts producing wool for men’s suits and coats
Loro Piana’s first collection of fabrics came out in 1926. Since then, the brand came out with masculine fabrics using innovative designs and by the 1930s the house produced wool fabrics to drip out men with suits and coats. Pietro’s nephew Franco also joined the company.
1940s-1960sLoro Piana makes luxury moves
In 1941, Franco Loro Piana took lead and after the war, with his fresh, visionary ideas, he pushed Loro Piana to luxury. Franco looked to Parisian ateliers and fashion houses and with his technical experience and vision he shifted Loro to sourcing grailed wools, using rare fibres such as alpaca and cashmere. In 1951, the Loro Piana coat of arms (which, to this day, you can see on its crest) was created.
1980sA new era: Loro Piana transitions to crafting
After Franco Loro Piana passed away in 1980, his two sons, Sergio and Pier Luigi, took over the company’s reins. With their thirst for style, business and innovation the company gained an international status, and by the early ‘80s the company transitioned from supplying luxury fabrics to crafting finished garms and accessories.
1990sLoro Piana drops outerwear
Sergio, an avid rider, was approached to kit out the Italian national riding team for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, and the house’s first outerwear, Horsey, was born. At the time, there was no design team, no creative direction – just Sergio and a vision. In 1994, the Italian house’s signature Storm System dropped, revolutionising the luxury market and making outerwear crafted from natural materials water-resistant and wind-resistant by adding a protective membrane to the fabrics. In the same year, the Maison opened its first shop in New York, which encouraged the brothers to open Loro’s first Milan flagship store in 1998.
2000sThe Loro Piana collection expands
The heritage house came out with its cult Loro Piana Bomber inspired by sailing culture and introducing Pecora Nera into the collection – a rare naturally dark-coloured wool sourced in New Zealand – the house’s first White Sole shoes, the Roadster driver jacket, and unveiling the Loro Piana Interiors line in 2006. The house also introduced Baby Cashmere, the most exclusive cashmere in the world, collected by Mongolian farmers by carefully combing baby goats and using their under fleece to make garments.
Ever since the ‘70s, Loro Piana has been fighting to preserve the Vicuña – a species which produces the rarest wool in the world – and its natural ecosystem. The brand introduced the fibre to ready-to-wear in 1994, and in 2008 Loro Piana built its own natural territory dedicated to protecting the Vicuña, its population doubling since the ‘90s.
2010s - TodayCommitment to being the best
In 2013, the Italian house joined the LVHM group and acquired Solbiati linen manufacturers, expanding the material range to lighter, airy fabrics. And in 2015, the house introduced the Accademia dei Mestieri, an internal academy to train new artisans and preserve Loro Piana’s supreme craftsmanship with the next generation. The Italian house got its “stealth wealth” clout in the 2020s through subtle references in HBO’s Succession.
Today, Loro Piana is committed to innovation but also celebrating its high-quality standards, through unmatched craft, investing in only the best of materials, supporting local communities and protecting the species that provide the house with its supreme wools and fibres, giving us grail items that are on top of our cop list.
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