What do Angelina Jolie, Sofia Coppola, and Succession’s Kendall Roy have in common? They’ve all rocked Loro Piana. Since its founding 100 years ago, the high-end Italian house has come a long way, transformed from a 1920s wool merchant to an LVMH-owned luxury giant now clothing the rich and famous. But, the brand makes clear, it's still a family business. And, to mark its 100th year, it's diving headfirst into heritage.
Accompanying its FW24 collection at Milan Fashion Week, the brand has taken over two on-street locations around the city. One is a newsstand given a lush brown makeover, from which they’re distributing small bouquets of thistles to passers-by. It’s an opulent gesture that evokes the brand’s history: Loro Piana himself used ‘fiori di cardo’ to raise and brush cashmere, and the thistle has remained on the logo of the house since 1951. The second location, on via Manzoni, sees them take over a flower kiosk.
This traditional Milanese grandeur is mirrored in the collection, with garments in the finest Cheviot, Cashmere, and Vicuña. These materials are the staples of Loro Piana, and they’re some of the world’s rarest—here, though, they feature in the most abundant of folds, layers, and drapes. The Maison also delves into its archives to reintroduce its signature Pecora Nera®, exclusively sourced in New Zealand, as well as Sopra Visso wool from the Sibillini Mountains of Italy.
In elegant olives, beiges, navies and greys, both men’s and women’s lines have a mysterious feel, equally appropriate for a debauched Gatsby party as for a white-collar board meeting. Plus, the attention to detail is stunning: thistle-shaped pins, for example, are a nod to the way Sergio Loro Piana fastened the collars of jackets when storing them in his wardrobe (“to maintain the softness of the fold”, apparently).
The ‘quiet luxury’ tag might follow Loro Piana around (and yes, the craze for all things high-end and low-key probably has something to do with the house’s recent growth), but with the trend on the way out, their AW24 offering still feels relevant—and contemporary. In recent years, they’ve been appealing to a slightly younger, more fashion-conscious audience—Mark Ruffalo on the cover of Perfect magazine, case in point.
This collection is at once smart, sleek, relaxed, and even a little outdoorsy. Upturned or banded collars are a frequent feature; accessories like hats and leather bags are coming in hot. As always, this is a story of textures, tactility, and unparalleled quality. But it’s also about the present and future of a brand with a rich past—for Loro Piana’s second century is set to be as bright as its first.
