Aspen Peak - Niche Media - Aspen living at its peak
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/417540
photography by andy barnham; opposite page: brUno rotUnnio/CoUrtesy oF Loro piana Loro Piana—yet with origins dating back to 1812 with the prescient vision of Pier Luigi's great- grandfather, Giacomo Loro Piana—the company, originally named Lanificio di Quarona di Zignone & Co., was the first to brand and label a textile dur- ing the late 1800s. Today, Loro Piana is the world's largest cashmere manufacturer and the biggest single purchaser of the globe's finest wools. Renowned for its trademarked baby cashmere, vicuña wool, and fine merino wools sourced from Australia and New Zealand, the family business produced solely wool during its infancy. After Pier Luigi's father, Franco Loro Piana, took the reins in 1941, the company introduced high-fashion wool- len fabrics, including cashmere. "We were known for making particularly good, thick, woolen coats when textiles became an industry—and high-quality fabric, particularly for men," Pier Luigi explains. "After World War II, [my father] made a strategic change to the com- pany, with products for both men and women." After Pier Luigi and his late brother, Sergio, took over in the 1970s and began exporting fab- rics—with the mantra of continuing a generational commitment to high-quality craftsmanship— Loro Piana's global footprint was solidified during the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games, during which the company's Horsey Jacket was worn by Italy's equestrian team for the first time. Sport has since continued to be part of Loro Piana's DNA. Today, the Italian house claims 150 retail out- lets—including 16 in the United States—located in regions, such as Aspen, populated with particu- larly aff luent consumers. In addition to its lines for men and women, Loro Piana Interiors was established in 2006 (only sold through architects and designers)—imagine a home with cashmere walls or a jet replete with Loro Piana's "One Step to Heaven" organic cashmere carpet. By 2011, an accessories collection was launched, featuring blankets, eyewear, small leather goods, and more. Unlike many brands, even in the luxury sector, that outsource steps in production, Loro Piana's fully integrated from- sheep-to-shop production allows for tight quality control. At its group head- quarters in Corso Rolandi, Italy, one will find workers with tweezers hunched over swaths of cashmere, while huge, high-tech machines support a large- scale, modern-day operation. Perhaps it's this juxtaposition that has enabled the sixth-generation Italian brand to remain rooted in its quest for high-qual- ity craftsmanship. "The qua lit y is a va lue t hat is untouchable," Pier Luig i expla ins. "We desperately need the hands and professional skill of our Italian workers—this is a given. In the '80s we invested in a lot of new technolog y, new machinery, but the machinery can do nothing without people who can manage it, and sometimes perfection is still guaranteed by the fine mending made by hand." A BUDDING DISCOVERY An ancient, natural fiber once utilized for hand- crafted monks' garments and sacred to the Buddha is Pier Luigi's latest preoccupation—and with good reason. "An old friend of mine, Choichiro Motoyama, gave me a piece of fabric made in Myanmar. He said, 'This is from the lotus f lower.' He knew about the lotus-f lower fabric and story, because in Japan, they developed the lotus-f lower fabric a thousand years ago. I touched it, and it was different than anything else; it looks like raw silk, has the shine of a linen, but it's soft. I told him I wanted to go to Myanmar and buy the raw mate- rial. He said, 'Better I come with you and show you everything I know.'" Immediately smitten by this fragile find with so much promise, Pier Luigi decided to fast-track production, and in 2010 contracted the local com- munity to produce the lotus-f lower fiber (Nelumbo nucifera). He now employs nearly 500 Intha locals. "It's impossible to bring the raw material to Europe because it's basically wet," he notes. "This fabric is the greenest textile fabric [in] the world. There is no electricity involved, no engine that works on the machinery, nothing." Rat her, t he stems of t he aquat ic pla nt produce a n ext remely f ine, raw mater ia l t hat has to be ha nd-worked on wooden looms; from t he moment t he f lowers a re de-stemmed, t he f ila- ment s must be ext racted w it hin 24 hours or t he mater ia l is no longer usable. It t a kes 6, 50 0 stems to obt a in a litt le over four ya rds of t he light-as- a ir, breat hable ya r n needed for a single cut leng t h of a bla zer. The f ina l product is ava ilable only in it s natura l ecru color. Upholding Loro Pia na's passion for t radit ion, t he product ion sup - por t s a nd per petuates a n a ncient a r t a nd economy in jeopa rdy of being forgotten. "We w ill not lose t his t radit ion, which was ready to die," Pier Luig i notes. Given t his ha nds- on approach, a limited number of bla zers a re pro - duced each yea r. Packaged in a beaut iful, ha ndcrafted lacquer box, t he Lotus Flower jacket is custom pr iced. Workers at Loro Piana's Sillavengo factory, in Piedmont, Italy, testing fabric elasticity. An illustration of the Aspen storefront Loro Piana has occupied since 1999. 186 aspenpeak-magazine.com