The great Italian cloth merchants

These houses are the ones that select the fibres, devise the weaves, work on the colours and develop the finishes that will give the fabric its feel, its drape and its character. Some have become true benchmarks in the world of menswear, to the extent that their name alone is sometimes enough to indicate the quality of a fabric.

Many of the most renowned were founded in and around Biella, in Piedmont. Situated at the foot of the Alps, the region has for centuries benefited from an environment particularly suited to wool processing, thanks in particular to its rivers. This area has thus become one of the great cradles of the Italian textile industry.

Here is the story of some of the companies that have shaped the reputation of Italian cloth.

Vitale Barberis Canonico: over 360 years of history

It is difficult to talk about Italian drapery without starting with Vitale Barberis Canonico. Its history dates back to 1663, the year of the first official document attesting to the Barberis Canonico family’s wool-working activities. This document bears witness, in particular, to the family’s expertise in working and dyeing wool.

More than three centuries later, the company is still family-run and continues to produce its fabrics in Biella. This exceptional longevity makes it one of the historic benchmarks of the global drapery industry.

VBC has built its reputation in particular on a very broad approach to men’s fabrics: formal, classic and versatile fabrics, as well as more contemporary materials and seasonal fabrics.

For a suit intended to be worn regularly, a Super 110 wool, for example, is a particularly versatile choice. As the count increases, the fibre becomes finer and the fabric can become lighter and softer, but also more delicate. Conversely, coarser wools can offer greater durability, texture and warmth.

Loro Piana: when fabric becomes exceptional

The history of Loro Piana began long before the creation of the company as we know it today. The Loro Piana family had been involved in the wool trade since the early 19th century, before Pietro Loro Piana formally founded the company in 1924 in Quarona, Piedmont.

The company gradually built a reputation for working with the most precious and delicate materials. Cashmere, extra-fine merino wool, vicuña… Loro Piana has built its identity around a constant quest for exceptional materials.

This is, in fact, one of the key focuses for a textile manufacturer such as Loro Piana: beyond the mere colour or pattern of a fabric, it is the entire process of researching the fibre, the yarn and the treatment of the material that determines the final result.

This philosophy explains why the name Loro Piana now extends far beyond the world of textiles alone to become a true benchmark of luxury.

Cerruti: from textiles to fashion

At Cerruti, the story begins in 1881, when Nino Cerruti’s grandfather, Antonio Cerruti, founded a textile business in Biella.

When Nino took over the reins of the family business in 1951, aged just 20, he gradually took it to new heights. He modernised production and quickly realised that it was no longer enough simply to produce beautiful fabrics: he also had to consider how they would be worn.

In 1957, he therefore founded Hitman and began producing menswear. This was a significant milestone, as Cerruti gradually evolved from being a cloth merchant to becoming a true player in the fashion industry.

Ten years later, in 1967, Nino Cerruti opened his boutique on Place de la Madeleine in Paris and launched his own high-end menswear ready-to-wear label. Cerruti 1881 was born.

What followed was the evolution of a fashion house that would gradually expand its horizons: womenswear collections, fragrances and numerous collaborations with the world of cinema. This trajectory sets Cerruti apart from many other textile houses in Biella: here, fabric becomes the starting point for a true stylistic language.

Reda: heritage as a laboratory

Reda is another great historic house from Biella. Its story began in 1865, when Carlo Reda converted a former textile mill in Valle Mosso into a wool spinning mill.

In 1919, the mill was taken over by the Botto Poala brothers, whose family itself came from a long tradition of textile manufacturing. This marked the beginning of a new family history that continues to this day.

Reda has since developed an identity with a strong focus on innovation. The company retains strong industrial and artisanal roots whilst placing great emphasis on research and the development of new materials.

Its work with merino wool is a good illustration of this: it is no longer simply a matter of reproducing traditional fabrics, but of constantly seeking new performance characteristics, new textures and new uses.

It is this ability to bring together textile tradition and innovation that enables Reda to remain relevant in an ever-evolving men’s wardrobe.

Zegna: when the cloth merchant becomes a luxury fashion house

Zegna occupies a unique place in this history. Founded in 1910 in Trivero by Ermenegildo Zegna, the company began as a fabric manufacturer with a very clear ambition: to produce the finest fabrics possible.

From the very beginning, Ermenegildo Zegna sought to control the quality of his materials by selecting fibres directly in their countries of origin before having them processed in Italy. This approach already foreshadowed the vertical integration strategy that would become one of the group’s key strengths.

From the 1960s onwards, Zegna gradually expanded its business into menswear. In 1968, the company opened its first facility dedicated to garment production, before expanding its international network in the decades that followed.

This evolution would transform Zegna into a true luxury house: the group was no longer content merely to manufacture fabrics used by others; it now controlled a large part of the supply chain, from raw materials to the finished garment.

This transformation was underpinned by an international strategy. Following stores in Paris in 1980, Milan in 1985 and Tokyo in 1989, Zegna opened a boutique in Beijing in 1991, becoming one of the first luxury brands to establish a direct presence in China.

Even today, textiles remain at the heart of the Zegna model, but they constitute the first stage in a much broader supply chain, stretching from fibre to the finished product.

Biella, a region that has become a hallmark

VBC, Loro Piana, Cerruti, Reda, Zegna… These houses do not share the same history, nor exactly the same specialisms, nor the same market positioning. Yet they share a common region and heritage: that of Biella and its exceptional textile tradition.

This is also what makes the work of a cloth merchant so fascinating. When choosinga suit, one does not simply select a colour or a pattern. One chooses a fibre, a weight, a texture, a weave, the way it catches the light and, above all, how the garment will age over time.

The cut gives the suit its silhouette. The fabric gives it its character.

And when you understand the history of these great Italian fashion houses, you realise why the choice of a draper is far from being a mere detail.

Article written by @yves_dron

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