The Lanificio Fratelli Piacenza has survived economic crises, wars, occupations and fires, alternating with periods of revival and of rampant optimism, while the family’s solidity, enterprise and courage have always ensured that it plays a leading role. The Piacenza family has shown a consistent, farsighted ability to ride the crest of the wave of its times, occupying the spotlight both industrially and politically, opening a shop in Turin when the French occupation had made the mill lose markets and workers, studying and adopting innovative methods from abroad, being the first in Italy to produce patterned fabrics during the period of the Italian Wars of Independence, discovering and importing a series of noble fibres, gaining the acknowledgement and support of such important politicians as Count Cavour and, above all, creating new markets for their fabrics in France, Belgium, England, Switzerland, the Americas, the Indies and other Asian countries in Felice’s days. Without forgetting finding new stimuli to revive the company after the great depression in the thirties and again after the Second World War. Some members of the family have held important public offices: Giovanni Battista served as President of the Turin Court of Appeal and contributed to drawing up the Civil Code, while Giuseppe Battista was the King’s first civic architect and a member of the Turin Academy. Others have brought innovation to the company, giving it a new lease of life after dark days, always driven by their love of quality and of nature. The Lanificio Fratelli Piacenza is a full member of the international hénokiens society, whose members are all family firms with at least two centuries of history to their names.

HENOKIENS

By virtue of their venerable age since the date of their foundation, the Fratelli Piacenza wool mills are part of the international association the Henokiens, whose members are family concerns with at least two centuries of history behind them.

THE PIACENZA FAMILY FOUNDATION

An archive worth preserving,
The idea of establishing a Piacenza Family Foundation started taking shape in 1982. The twin aim was to safeguard the family’s historical and cultural heritage and to favour the entire Valle Elvo community’s conservation of documents and machinery. The Piacenza archives preserve hundreds of deeds, such as the one obtained from the Municipality of Pollone in 1750 for the use in perpetuity of the water in the Oremo torrent, correspondence with customers and suppliers, personal research and administrative documents, but also many photographs and films that have never been published, although a great deal had been lost in a fire in 1812. The Foundation has published a book entitled Una famiglia tra il Risorgimento e l’Europa (A Family from the Risorgimento to Europe), by Andrea Pivotto, takes part in exhibitions and conferences and is a member of the Network of Fabric and Fashion Archives.

TRAVELLING

From the late nineteenth century to the middle of the twentieth, travelling was an uncomfortable, slow and dangerous business. The Earth seemed to be bigger than it is today and only suited to courageous spirits. Anthropological, botanical and scientific discoveries arrived from far-off lands, with images that illustrated aspects of the world that had never been seen before. The travels of Mario and Guido Piacenza led to invaluable discoveries for the company. During his expedition to the Himalayas (1913), Mario discovered the softness and warmth of the fabrics that the Sherpas wore tied around their Camp at 5,500 m above sea level on the Durung-Drung glacier in the Himalayas Mario Piacenza on an elephant in Calcutta ankles. He immediately realised that he had found an ally against the cold and looked for its origin. Curiosity and his love for the life of the nomad shepherds and their animals led him to his discovery: the undercoat of the cashmere goat. Years later, he explored the Earth’s lunar landscapes. In the deserts of the Middle East, the Berbers taught him to appreciate the value of camelhair. In addition to being an indispensable means of trans- port, the ship of the desert also turned out to be vital for dealing with the desert’s low nocturnal temperatures. Mario discovered the camelhair duvet and the result was a revolution in overcoats.

1733 - INIZIA LA DINASTIA DEI PIACENZA INDUSTRIALI LANIERI
Pietro Francesco (1697-1753) e il figlio Giovanni Francesco (1727-1796) avviano l’attività di una macchina per la follatura di tessuti in lana in regione Paroir a Pollone, quindi la nascita del lanificio, sebbene il censimento sabaudo del 1623 già indicasse due componenti della famiglia Piacenza come commercianti di lana. Pietro Francesco amplia lo stabilimento che nel 1757 dà lavoro a 100 persone.

1814 - LANIFICIO FRATELLI PIACENZA
L’apertura di una «casa di vendita» a Torino, nel 1799, permette al lanificio di sopravvivere durante l’occupazione francese quando le maestranze si riducono a 37. Nel 1814 la ditta assume il nome Lanificio Fratelli Piacenza. Carlo Antonio (1779-1842) inizia ad acquistare le materie prime nei principali mercati europei e i tessuti si vendono in 42 piazze.

1827 - UNA SVOLTA NELLA PRODUZIONE
Carlo Antonio e successivamente Giovanni (1811-1883) introducono i primi telai meccanici mule-jenny e jacquard scoperti in Inghilterra. Nel 1839 Giovanni avvia, per primo in Italia, la produzione di tessuti in fantasia a righe e a quadretti studiati a Parigi. Il loro successo, un anno dopo, porta a costruire un nuovo stabilimento dove accentrare tutte le fasi produttive e in 10 anni il numero degli operai balza a 350. La dimensione artigianale lascia il posto a quella industriale.

1845 - GIOVANNI: L’IMPRENDITORE ILLUMINATO
Grazie a una rete di agenti di commercio le piazze di vendita sfiorano il centinaio e giungono fino al centro Italia di pari passo con l’allargamento dei confini del Regno di Sardegna. Medaglia d’argento per la Piacenza all’Esposizione di Torino (1844) e a Genova (1846); nel 1854 i tessuti fantasia valgono la medaglia d’oro a Torino. Al Parlamento Subalpino Giovanni viene definito da Cavour un imprenditore illuminato perché a favore del libero scambio e nel 1856 entra nella società per la costruzione della linea ferroviaria Biella-Santhià.

1911 - LO STABILIMENTO A TORINO E IL LANIFICIO-SCUOLA
Felice (1843-1938) dal 1868 migliora l’organizzazione dei reparti e della produzione, dopo gli studi al centro industriale di Verviers (Belgio). Fonda la Lega Industriale Biellese e ne è il primo presidente (1901), viene nominato Cavaliere del Lavoro e Commendatore della Corona. Nel 1911 apre uno stabilimento a Torino e il Lanificio Scuola Felice Piacenza a Biella.

1932 - L’ALTA MODA E LA CONFEZIONE
Con Enzo si aprono gli orizzonti delle passerelle dell’alta moda e dei grandi atelier di Londra, Parigi e New York. Tra il 1950 e il 1960 nasce la ditta Paroir per la vendita al dettaglio dei tessuti e, nel decennio successivo, Riccardo e Giovanni (figli di Enzo) avviano la confezione dei capi creando la I.M.D. Nel 1970 si apre lo stabilimento attuale e dagli Anni 80 si esportano tessuti in tutto il mondo.

1990 - PIACENZA CASHMERE
Nasce la linea di capi di abbigliamento in puro cashmere di altissima qualità. Si chiama: Piacenza Cashmere e si assicura fin da subito un posto importante tra le collezioni del lusso.

MIX & MATCH

If you’re after a casual suit, then opt for a looser fit. This will bring the formality right down. But if you don’t fancy going full linen suit, why not match a linen blazer with a different style of trouser? There’s no hard and fast rules that say we have to always wear the same fabric as part of a trouser and jacket combination.

We'r here to help you find the perfect suits

Battle the formalwear blues with this refined navy suit jacket from dgrie. The rich colour will elevate your smart wardrobe and the fit is fashionably skinny to help you create a sleek, refined silhouette. Classic notch lapels, slanted slot pockets and a double back vent are complemented by a single-button fastening.

1539
Scabal’s mill in historic Huddersfield, the cradle of English cloth, stopped grinding wheat, and began to work with cloth. This was in response to rising taxes on grain, and a large amount of weavers arriving in Yorkshire during the Hundred Years War.

Initially working as fullers, a job that involved stretching the woolen fibres by hand, looms were soon installed. Nearly 500 years later, we are still making the world’s finest fabrics at the same location.

1799
With the Industrial Revolution in England gathering pace, Scabal’s Huddersfield mill moved with technological change, and started to mechanise some of the weaving process.
This allowed for finer cloths to be crafted, but required constant monitoring and human judgment. Our process in this regard remains largely unchanged, with expert weavers guiding every step of the process.

1938
With so many international clients, Mr. Hertz realized he needed an easier way to transport his cloths across the globe. The solution was to invent the now ubiquitous fabric “bunch”, which soon became the industry standard for both tailors, and merchants.
The most famous of these early cloths was our Superlana collection, and all the original bunches can still be viewed in our archives today.

For centuries, in fact, in the areas between Yorkshire and Lancashire, at the foot of the Pennines, textile products were produced with ancient methods: spinning was done by hand at home or in the stalls and then the fabric was made on hand looms.

1780

Some inventors mechanised textile machinery, greatly multiplying production thanks to the use of hydraulic energy. In those years an important waterway was built connecting Liverpool to Leeds, Yorkshire's textile hub.

1792

The first boats arrived loaded with cotton from the West Indies.

1796

Thomas Mason, who had guessed well as regards to current potential, founded one of the first cotton fabric factories in Leeds for shirts. The fabrics, which were top quality even then, were used by West End London tailors for the aristocracy and rich upper class and were later exported all over the British Empire and everywhere else in the world.

1850

The Victorian era marked the maximum expansion of the British Empire. This was also true for the industry founded by Thomas Mason which grew and consolidated, becoming a benchmark for male elegance. Its beating heart is the St. James's area in London, the home of the most exclusive Clubs and shoe-, umbrella-, hat-, stick- and shirt-makers which, as time went by, became concentrated in Jeremyn Street. This tiny street, near Piccadilly, became the world's shirt capital.

1990

The death of Queen Victoria sanctioned the end of an era and with the start of the First World War in 1914 the social and economical life of the nation underwent a drastic change. Even Thomas Mason is called to contribute to the war cause. In fact, new fabrics and treatments are experimented in the factory to make cotton waterproof, resistant to fire and mimetic. The helicopter immersion pilots wore special suits made of densely woven cotton which became waterproof on contact with the sea. The Thomas Mason fabrics saved the lives of many airmen who would otherwise have died of exposure.

1920-1930

London, with its famous Savile Row and Jermyn Street, is once again confirmed the centre of international male elegance.

1936

The Prince of Wales comes to the throne with Edward VIII but after only a few months abdicated for the love of Wally Simpson. Nominated Duke of Windsor, for many, many years he impersonates the role of referee of the most elegant and aristocratic style between the two wars. It was then that Thomas Mason became the exclusive supplier for Turnbull and Asser, the shirt-maker of English Royalty. Comfort and above all colour are the pillars of fashion at that time. Turning over the pages of the archives of those years it is the designs and polychrome patterns that catch the eye.

1960

London is once again at the centre of a costume revolution. Traditional male elegance lets itself become involved in this new fashion trend and some brilliant stylists throw a bridge between Savile Row, Jermyn Street and Carnaby Street. Clothing is colourful, imaginative and fun. Even the shirt becomes eccentric and a star with stripe and check patterns in open-minded colours to go with the typical and very flashy kipper ties.

1992

The English brands Thomas Mason and David & John Anderson are acquired by the Albini family of Bergamo, together with their two-century long history with tradition consisting of a heritage of seven hundred volumes in which we find the collection of fabric designs of incomparable value, historical and aesthetic.

Today

Thomas Mason fabrics, inspired by the collections inside the historical archives, went down in the continuous lines Silverline and Goldline besides the seasonal collections, still represent the benchmark for lovers of the British taste.

Fit, Fabric & Construction are the three principles of men's suiting. Our partnership with Zegna Fabric allows us to focus on our core competencies: Fit & Construction.

HISTORY OF ERMENEGILDO ZEGNA

Over the years the company branched out into a large range of menswear accessories such as neckwear, buttons, badges and cufflinks, all of which was inspired by our tailoring heritage and dedication to classic British style.

The company has a strong royal connection. Back in 1944 Benson & Clegg was granted a Royal Warrant to His Majesty King George VI as his official tailors, entitling the company to display the royal coat of arms. Then in 1992 we were granted a further Royal Warrant to HRH The Prince Of Wales for the supply of buttons, badges and military neckwear.

Today the business is owned by Barry Austin, Mark Gordon and Tony Martin

For over 75 years our company has grown to become one of London's most well known and respected providers of true bespoke tailoring to the modern gentleman. Combined wtih our large range of accessories, we have the ability to provide everything a gentleman needs for a smart and stylish wardrobe to cater for all occasions.

The Royal Warrant
Benson & Clegg is a proud holder of the Royal Warrant to HRH The Prince of Wales, an honour we have held since 1992. We are also proud members of The Royal Warrant Holders Association. A Royal Warrant of Appointment is a mark of recognition of those who have supplied goods or services to the Households of The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh or The Prince of Wales for at least five years, and who have an ongoing trading arrangement. The symbol of the Royal Warrant represents a company has achieved the highest standards of service, quality and excellence.

Perhaps the most famous customer in the Benson & Clegg ledgers is His Majesty King George VI, King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth. This was an honour that led to Benson & Clegg being granted our first Royal Warrant back in 1944. The King had originally been a customer of the company whilst holding the title of His Royal Highness The Duke of York back in 1937, but following his accession to the throne Benson & Clegg were formally granted the honour of the Royal Warrant as his bespoke tailors. This was a glorious achievement and esteemed honour for the firm. In being given this honour, Benson & Clegg were responsible for the creation of the King's formal attire, including his suits, morning dress, as well as a large proportion of his military uniform. In fact our tailors were responsible for the King's famous double breasted overcoat, often seen in many historical photographs. During his reign King George VI epitomised British sartorial style and sophistication, and his suits were admired both at home and abroad. His clothing represented the best in British tailoring, a tradition we have continued to this day.

King George Vi: Benson & Clegg were responsible for the King's formal attire, including his suits, morning dress, as well as a large proportion of his military uniform. Tailors xreated the King's famous double created overcoat, often seen in historical photographs. During his reign King George VI epitomized British sartorial style and sophistication, and his suits were admired both at home and abroad. His clothing represented the best in British tailoring, a tradition continued to this day.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth and other members of the Royal Family were in attendance at the festival, and Her Majesty in particular gave our stand a good look. The festival gave the public not only a glimpse into a royal world, but also a keen insight into the many types of company that supply the Royal Household and the diverse range of products and services on offer. The Coronation Festival was also the ideal opportunity to promote our newly created blazer button ‘Britannia’, created in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II’s 60th coronation anniversary. It proved a big hit and we have now added this to our full range of blazer buttons. These can be purchased directly from our website

OUR BUTTONS CATALOG

BUILDING A DREAM
Ermenegildo Zegna founded his wool mill - Lanificio Zegna - in 1910 in the Alpine foothills of Trivero. Today, Zegna fabrics are still one of Italy’s most acclaimed exports.

BUILDING LOCAL INFRASTRUCTURE
Ermenegildo Zegna believed in making the environment better for all. One of his program of works included building the Panoramic Zegna, a road that opened up the beauty of the alpine territory to many.

RECLAIMING NATURE
In the ‘30s, in love with the beauties of nature and deeply rooted in his own land, the textile industrialist launched a program of environmental reclamation around Trivero.

THE TOUCH OF THE HAND
Each piece of fabric is inspected by expert weavers for any imperfections

Ermenegildo’s vision was in many ways ahead of his time: to source the best-quality natural fibers, directly from their country of origin; to innovate in product and production processes; to promote the brand and invest in the environment of his suppliers and workers.

Ermenegildo had a grander vision too, and that was to transform the environment and lives of those around him. By 1932, Trivero already had a meeting hall, a library, a gym, a cinema/theatre and a public swimming pool. In the space of a few years, he built a medical centre and a nursery school. In the meantime, he was dedicating himself to the local environment and landscape, planting thousands of trees and building the “Panoramica Zegna” road a 14 km route linking Trivero and Bielmonte, a tourist resort 1,500 meters above sea level.

By the early 1980s this vision had been realised in a fully vertically-integrated company. Zegna has close control over each part of its supply chain: owning everything from a farm in Australia to mills in Italy, fabric cutting houses in Switzerland through to the boutique stores where its fabrics are sold across the globe.

THE FINEST RAW MATERIALS
Bales of raw wool at the Lanficio Zegna arrive from around the world, sourced from the highest quality pastures

Each generation of the family has been involved in consolidating Ermenegildo Zegna’s vision, ensuring that the name Zegna remains relevant. In 1972 it launched its Made to Measure service. In 1980 Zegna opened its first boutique in Paris. This was followed by shops in London in 1983 and Milan in 1985. When it opened its boutique at the Palace Hotel, Beijing in 1991, it was the first western luxury menswear brand to open a boutique in China, in line with its strategy of entering emerging markets early.

Diversification of the offering, which now ranges from clothing to accessories, accelerated growth, as well as continuing the entrepreneurial spirit shown by Ermenegildo Zegna in the constant desire to improve and look to the future. The group’s two main brands are the Ermenegildo Zegna range and the Z Zegna range, which is aimed at a younger market. The group has developed and patented multiple fabric treatments including Trofeo, High Performance and Elements.

From its conception, over 170 years ago, Holland & Sherry has continued to supply prestigious tailors and luxury brands with the finest cloth. In 1836 Stephen George Holland & Frederick Sherry began the business as woollen merchants at 10 Old Bond Street, London, specialising in both woollen and silk cloths. 1886 saw Holland & Sherry moved premises to Golden Square, at the time the epicentre of the woollen merchanting trade.

By 1900 the firm was exporting to many countries and around that time a sales office was established in New York. In the early part of the twentieth century, the United Kingdom, Europe, North and South America were the dominant markets for the company. Amongst other distribution arrangements, there was a Holland & Sherry warehouse in St. Petersburg, Russia, a successful market prior to the revolution and now being successfully renewed.

By 1982 the business moved to Savile Row, which remains as our registered head office. In 1968 Holland & Sherry bought Scottish cloth merchant, Lowe Donald, based at Peebles, in the Scottish Borders and decided to locate their distribution to the purpose built warehouse there. Of all the cloth merchants of Golden Square which were established in the late 1800’s, only Holland & Sherry remains. Over the decades we have purchased nearly twenty other wool companies.

We are constantly engaged in research for ever finer and more luxurious fibres and fabric qualities; sourcing the finest natural fibres, ranging from super 200’s with cashmere to pure worsted Vicuña. Our cloths are woven in the time honoured way by generations of craftsmen to assured quality and good taste. A bespoke tailored garment in luxury Holland & Sherry cloth is truly an investment and always a pleasure to wear.

Our customer base covers a wide spectrum, from providing cloth for films such as Mission Impossible and Moulin Rouge to the cast of the English National Opera. We also pride ourselves in supporting the next generation in the fashion and textile industry.

British Textiles and Tailoring

The idea of the suit, an outfit of matching jacket and trousers, is widely credited as British. For more than 200 years British menswear has produced original and authentic fabric and garments, including tartan, tweed and fine woollen and worsted cloths. In the late 18th century, the fashionable tailors who developed British menswear and utilised British textiles, formed a tight circle of workshops in London’s West End, which is known globally today as Savile Row.

Britain has traditionally been at the forefront of the textiles and tailoring market for more than 200 years. Holland & Sherry is proud of its British heritage and continues to source cloth from textile manufacturers in Yorkshire and Scotland.

Focusing on the manufacture of wool fabric’s for men’s suiting, the West Yorkshire textile industry benefits from a damp climate and Pennine water which are particularly suited to the spinning and finishing of cotton and wool. Yorkshire mills are proud companies of tradition, whose history and expertise often stretch back over generations. Yorkshire textiles enjoy a reputation for high quality, based on tradition and history but also on the quality of raw materials and a high standard of finish.

Tartan and Tweed are synonymous with Scotland and have helped build an international identity and reputation for Scottish textiles. Tweed, woven from carded short wool, using rough fibres and warm rustic colours, has come to evoke the countryside and outdoor pursuits associated with Britishness.

The word ‘tweed’ itself is an English variant on the Scottish word tweel which referred to the wool cloth woven by hand by Scottish highlanders and island dwellers. The term has come to be associated with the tweed river, which runs through Peebles, where Holland & Sherry’s distribution warehouse is based, later becoming a description for all carded home spun wool.

The term ‘district check’ embraces a total of more than two hundred estate tweeds. In 1848 Prince Albert acquired the vast Balmoral estate in the North of Scotland, to where the Royal’s were followed by a number of other aristocratic families, attracted by the abundance of outdoor space with opportunity for hunting and fishing. The district check originates from the distinctive and exclusive patterns designed for wear by the staff of each estate, as a means of identification, similar to that of the Scottish clan tartans. These checks would also have been worn by the proprietors of each estate for the purpose of camouflage when hunting and shooting in the remote Scottish hills.

The cloth Harris Tweed itself originates from the beautiful remote islands of the Outer Hebrides – off the west coast of Scotland and has become one of the most famous wool textiles in the world, used predominantly in the menswear market. The unique selling point of Harris Tweed is its use of local materials and hand crafted techniques. The finished cloth is inspected and stamped on the reverse side with its trademark Orb, as certification and to promote and protect the name of Harris Tweed.

we have recommended and providing Luxurious ultra fine wool blends for our made to measure custom suits from the Italian fabric weaver Lanificio di Marzoni since 2007.

The fabric ranges are very business classical, their fabric would certainly enhance your next custom suit, custom blazer sports jacket or custom dress pants. When you feel the fabric weave of the Marzoni fine Wool/Cashmere/Silk blends/Linen, you will want it for your next custom suit material. Compared to the other fabrics, not only will you feel the difference to the touch, but once you put on the custom garment such as a custom suit, the drape from the Marzoni fabric range presents very elegantly.

If you work in a business casual office, or not in any office at all, the navy blue blazer gives you a simple solution to the tricky problem of dressing respectably without appearing aloof.
In a workplace dominated by linen shirts, the man who has the class to throw a blazer on over the ensemble looks distinctive without standing out.

MAKE APPOINTMENT
LINE: DGRIE
Tel: 082 770 7770

OUR MATERIALS

50% BLEND WOOL

COMPITITIVE PRICE FOR SUITS

100% WOOL 120'S

100% WOOL 120'S FOR SUITS AND JACKETS FABRIC FROM VITALE BARBERIS CANONICO
MADE IN ITALY

100% WOOL

FOR JACKETS AND PANTS FABRIC FROM VITALE BARBERIS CANONICO
MADE IN ITALY

NAVY BUTTON

FOR SUITS AND JACKETS

100% LINEN BLUE

FOR SHIRTS FROM IRIS LINEN

Vitale Barberis Canonico as a wool mill is a symbol of the excellence of Made in Italy in the sector of textiles for garments. For the last 350 years, all the phases of the wool processing have been carried out in the historical buildings in Pratrivero in the Biellese Prealps, the heart of the textile-producing area, where the best waters flow for the processing of high-quality wools. This is where the textiles come from which are bought by the most famous gentlemen’s tailors, from Caraceni to Panico, from the tailors of Savile Row to all the other masters of the tailor’s skill throughout the world. The first documentation of the wool-producing activities of the family dates back to 1663, but the company first became Vitale Barberis Canonico in 1936, to then become a limited company in 1971. Throughout the years, Vitale Barberis Canonico has always recorded positive trends: in 2012, the production reached 6,930 million metres, and the turnover rose to e 103 million (in comparison to e 99 million in 2011.) With over 340 skilled workers, 50 agents all over the world, two stateof-the-art establishments in the Biella area and avant-garde management methods, VBC has taken its place amongst the top companies in the world for the production of high-quality wools in terms of both value and quantity, and on a global level as the main exporter. The company has turned export into one of its key strengths: today it sells on every continent exporting more than 80% of its production to 100 countries. It has been represented in China, one of its main markets, for more than 40 years and realises approximately 20% of its entire turnover there. Moreover, production is carried out 100% in Italy

Vitale Barberis Canonico Wool Excellence Award 2013/2014