In Italy, the first evidence of textile manufacturing dates back to the Norman period in Palermo, where the famous Royal Manufacture of noble workshops worked silk and precious fabrics with gold and gems. In the mid-twelfth century, production began thanks to the brotherhood of the Humiliati, dedicated to the processing of wool, which starting from the Milanese building with its convents a prosperous industry that spread throughout northern Italy.
Textile manufacturing in Umbria
Perugia has been part of the international textile industry since the 13th century. Other important Umbrian textile centers are represented by Città di Castello, Foligno, Gubbio and Todi. With the trade of wool, cities such as Milan, Vicenza, Bologna and Florence became very wealthy, and with that the power of the guilds that managed these sectors: Art of Calimala, Art of Wool, Art of Dyers, Art of Silk. With its dedication to trade in the Renaissance, Florence established itself as a center for the import and export of weaving products. Later, during the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, the silk factories of San Leucio near Naples represented one of the most important examples of industrial textile manufacturing.
The textile industry in Italy has developed above all in the North: in the Altomilanese, in the Biella area, in the Bergamo area and in the upper Vicenza area. There are still the traces of the flourishing textile industries from the past, for example, the workers' villages of Crespi d'Adda, the Nuova Schio, the Valdagno dei Marzotto, Campione sul Garda degli Olcese and the Leumann Village in Collegno. In the Como area, the industry specialized in the production of silk and in the Mantua area of Castel Goffredo in the production of women's socks and tights. At the center, Prato developed into an industrial district, the most important in Italy in terms of number of companies and employees.
We'll showcase a few of the leading textile companies in Italy; but this is one of the largest industry sectors in Italy, and tightly linked to the success of fashion Made in Italy.
Larioseta
Born in 1945 in Como, Larioseta is among the leading textile companies in the field of fashion accessories, both for women and men in Italy.
With their extensive research and experimenting of new production techniques and new printing processes, allows Larioseta to establish relationship with a range of designers and fashion houses they produce for.
Larioseta designs and produces exclusive scarves and foulards with creative designs; printed scarves, solid color, dyed yarn and jacquard of the highest quality, and recognised for its exclusivity.
Ruffo Coli Textiles
Ruffo Coli is a renowned manufacturer of haute couture and prêt-a-porter fabrics based in Italy. They create ultimate fashion designs on lace, tulle, jacquard, tweed and silk, using beads, sequins, ruffles, ribbons, etc.
The luxury range, they offer includes high quality printed silks, embroidered Chantilly lace and tulle, fil coupe taffeta, cloque, jacquard, boucle, degrade fabrics. Perfect for everyday wear and for special occasions, these are the most exquisite designs made in Italy. Ruffo Coli’s collections are the result of a passion for the fabric that has been in the family for generations. They are the result of a creative effort that starts in their style office, the real “engine” of the company, where new trends are analysed and modelled to deliver a precise stylistic imprint to offer the biggest fashion houses a wide range of proposals to enhance the quality of their creations. Two annual collections are divided into four lines, differentiated by type of product and target range.
Luigi Verga
Luigi Verga Silk Weavers have embraced the Como silk tradition in the textile sector for tens of years; embodying craftmanship-like attention to technique, trends and creativity. Clients from all over the world appreciate their work and their fabrics. Together with their stylists, they bring ideas to life resulting in a vast range of textiles prints and designs. For three generations, they have weaved, run and exported fabrics and textiles “Made in Italy” with great pride and passion.
Luigi Verga Silk Weavers were founded in 1940 by Mr Luigi Verga as a weavers’ studio, today it is managed by his daughters Adriana and Mariella Verga. They have carried forward the tradition of Como’s fine silk textiles with pride, making “Made in Italy” famous throughout the world. Verga's services cover weaving, printing, home-made painting. Their weavers have produced textiles for Pret a Porter; for some of the world’s most famous fashion designers. This tight collaboration between their craftsmen and the designers have created a high quality and exclusive product - Made in Italy.
Alberti Tessuti
Alberti Tessuti is synonym to first class quality textiles, created with the utmost experience and passion in all stages of manufacture from yarn to the finished fabric.
Their showroom in Gallarate, close to Milan Malpensa Airport, provide a huge range of fabrics for viewing and wholesale purchasing.
Alberti Tessuti srl produces high quality, Made-in-Italy fabrics for women's wear, merging the quality of Northern Italian textile tradition with the latest trends in the global fashion market.
Pucci Prints
Don Emilio Pucci, Marchese di Barsento was a Florentine Italian fashion designer and politician. He and his company are synonymous with psychedelic prints in an array of colors. “Gaiety is one of the most important elements I have brought to fashion,” Pucci said. So dazzling are his prints, in bright fuchsia, geranium, turquoise and yellow.
Pucci started in the business by lending a ski outfit he had designed for himself to a woman who was then photographed in it for a fashion magazine.
Resulting in many requests for the stretch ski pants, parkas and sweaters. Then, in 1949 a small collection of resort clothes he’d designed for a friend who had lost her luggage became an enormous success among the Dolce Vita jet set along the Mediterranean coast. Pucci was bombarded with orders and subsequently set up a shop in the Palazzo Pucci in Florence.
By 1960, Pucci was the name to be seen in. Lauren Bacall, Gina Lollobrigida, Jackie Kennedy, Ann-Margret and Elizabeth Taylor wore his clothes.
However, part of the appeal lay in the slinky, crease-resistant silk jersey fabric which felt sensual against the skin. And it travelled well - so well that Braniff airlines commissioned air stewardesses’ uniforms in layers of Pucci that could be pulled on or off as the temperature dictated.
By the mid-1960s, the international fashion press nicknamed the Florentine designer the Prince of Prints. Pucci also ventured into industrial product design with his prints and designs, such as for s, Pucci applied his colourful, abstract designs products such as ceramics, floors and furniture, ingraining them with a flow and glamour.
Not surprising, Pucci was the first fashion designer to enter the lifestyle market, founding the successful brand that exists today. His daughter, Laudomia, brought out a guide to Pucci's and the company’s unique heritage and iconography.
After Pucci's death in 1992, his daughter inherited the business. Today, she is vice president and image director of the company, which is part-owned by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton and now based in Milan, after decades occupying the family’s 13th-century Florentine palazzo.
Roberto Cavalli Prints
Roberto Cavalli is an Italian fashion house with a long history and tradition in the luxury goods sector. In the 1970's he developed and patented new techniques for printing on leather, and putting eye-catching patchwork designs together.
When he introduced these techniques in Paris, he attracted attention from established luxury houses such as Hermès and Pierre Cardin and shortly thereafter presented his first collection at the Prêt-à-Porter fashion show at the age of 32.
His decorative and intricate prints have been inspired by different historic decades, countries and and traditions. From Navajo and Apache prints to jacquard stripes and paisley, the motifs are often very ornamental and colorful, and always complement with the silhouette of each piece.
He is a fan of flowers, animal prints and ethnic designs which he transfers effortlessly onto his clothes for a truly decadent air to his looks. The designer is also a fan of embroidery and sequins, adding an extra touch of romance and fine craftsmanship to each frock.
Cavalli’s grandfather, Giuseppe Rossi, was a painter and member of the Macchiaioli, an impressionist movement in Tuscany during the mid 19th century that may have very well influenced his aesthetic senses.
Etro Fabrics
Etro was founded in 1968 by Gerolamo "Gimmo" Etro as a textile design company. The main stylistic driver for Etro over its first decades was the paisley pattern, and variations on this theme. Textiles head Jacopo Etro later commented on this period, stating that he had started to visit the archive when he was a child, spending many hours copying the fabric designs and experimenting with his own creative style. After a trip to India made by Etro executives, the furnishing textiles line made its debut in 1981. The "swirling" paisley design found on this trip is now interchangeable with the label.
The company designs collections for men and women, and for the home.
Zegna Group
The Zegna Wool Mill founded in 1910, has been the backbone of the company’s success and is renowned internationally for the world’s finest textiles. The Ermenegildo Zegna wool mill has concentrated mainly on the production of high quality wool, cashmere and mohair fabrics. Four generations of the Zegna family have led the success in textiles. 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 backed up by artisan craftsmanship is the core tradition of the firm.
The firm has been pioneering in 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.
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