Interview with Mr Pier Luigi Loro Piana

Our great uncle founded the current company, in 1924, that is correct, but our ancestors have been merchants of wool fabrics since the early 19th century. My brother Sergio and myself represent the 6th generation of this family company and we are very proud of our history. There have been many remarkable episodes that have contributed to make Loro Piana the largest cashmere manufacturer and the biggest single purchaser of the world’s finest wools. However the most significant change for our generation was certainly the development of the luxury goods division which today represents 60% of the total turnover. Produced in our own facilities in the Piedmont region (Italy), exclusive lines for men, women and children, along with home furnishing, accessories, and gifts are distributed in over 120* directly operated stores worldwide (*as of April 2009).

On one hand textile producers have diminished, on the other they went global, reaching out across the world and exporting the know-how and craftsmanship.

We at Loro Piana specifically concentrated (and still do today) on the needs of our customers sticking to authentic quality and continued with a totally verticalised company which guarantees quality on all levels. With ever chancing climatic conditions the general request of our customers was focused on lightness. Our first breakthrough was certainly the Tasmanian®, created in the 1960s in response to the growing need for new and modern clothing that was light, versatile, crease-resistant and crease-proof, as well as particularly suited for air-conditioned environments. This lightweight fabric with unique and original features (from Merinos coming from the Tasmania island, Australia) was inspired by Priest Cloth®, that Loro Piana produced especially for ecclesiastic garments.

It is difficult to foresee our global market potential in times like these. What we can do and are doing is to continue sticking to our main values which are: timeless fashion, uncompromising quality, best raw materials, tight production control, 100% made in Italy, exclusivity, understatement, personality, and comfort. We are positive that by keeping focused on our values, they will continue to pay back.

We registered the need of our customers to extend the quality and attention to detail that they are already used to from our clothing fabrics and collections, to their homes and everything that surrounds them in their daily life.

Loro Piana Interiors was launched in 2007 with an exclusive fabric collection that includes noble fibres such as cashmere, fine-spun wool, angora, silk, linen and cotton. The quality of the fabrics as well as the leathers is held to the highest standards to ensure long wear and easy maintenance without sacrificing their natural softness, and lightness. The upmost in luxury is the precious carpet One Step to Heaven made of 100% cashmere (1 m² is made of 2 kg of fibre), conceived for the most intimate of environments, not only at home, but also for the furnishing of private yachts, aeroplanes and helicopters.

Uncompromising quality, unique raw materials and timeless elegance for an international lifestyle, are also the fundamental values of Loro Piana Interiors.

This is a question that everyone is asking themselves…

In any case, we are positive that by keeping on doing what we do best, we can be at the front of the fleet once the storm is over. In fact, studies show that in times of economic recession, people prefer to spend money on quality, durability and timelessness rather than fast fashion and that is exactly what we offer.

Competition is global and it is on everything.

We chose to concentrate on sophisticated and demanding clients who appreciate true quality and made in Italy products and decided to keep on investing in intrinsic value.

Loro Piana applies a meticulous quality control from the very first selection of the raw materials directly from the breeders, (Peru for vicuna, Mongolia and China for cashmere, Australia and New Zealand for the finest merino wool) through all stages of production in Italy, until the finished fabrics and products on the shelf. Our customers are aware of this process and know that ours is a quality they can trust. Furthermore Loro Piana items are timeless and last to the extent that some are even passed on from one generation to the next. This way they serve almost like a form of investment. The trust of our customers and friends is what keeps us focus on our mission and helps keeping true quality profitable.

We are fond of natural fibres and I am happy to see that people are becoming more aware and appreciative of our endeavours of using them whenever possible, substituting man made fibred. Of course we can not live completely without mad made fibres, but everyone should do their bit to reduce their own personal consumption.

By privileging natural fibres, we exploit the best that nature can give without causing any unnecessary pollution to the earth, seeing as “man made” fibres will still cause damage for centuries to come (and we do not know how much it will cost to destroy them), while wool, cashmere and all other natural fibres will long have been recycled and returned to mother earth.

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