WWD JAPAN
September 2nd issue

Loro Piana Celebrates its 100th Anniversary
Flexibe Evolution in Production and Creation



 

Evolving Universe and its Vision for the Next 100 Years
Loro Piana was founded in Valsesia, Italy in 1924 and celebrates its 100th anniversary this year. Today, the Maison supplies the world with the finest quality cashmere, wool and other materials. In the 1980s, it launched the Luxury Goods Division, which offers finished products originally out of the textiles produced in its own mills. What is the strength of Loro Piana, which has evolved over 100 years to become as flexible as the finest fabrics? It will be unveiled through stories of the renovation of Ginza Store, the interview with the CEO and the new capsule collection.

LORO PIANA GINZA STORE RENEWAL
The flagship store on Ginza Chuo-dori in Ginza, Tokyo, reopened after more than a year of renovation. The revitalized Ginza Store is filled with Loro Piana’s signature hospitality. The first floor has been significantly expanded and guests are welcomed with open and warm space at the entrance. The new bag counter features leather bags and items of the season. Warm and natural-looking lighting is also one of the results of the renovation to make the space and the products look even more attractive. The women’s floor on the second floor has been renewed to allow natural light to come in and to create an open ambience. The ceiling lights on all floors are individually fine-tuned as if they are natural light, offering relaxed atmosphere for the guests. The Loro Piana Interiors furniture installed in the store has also been updated with the image of a lounge space. The gentle curves that frame the interior and staircase are typical of Loro Piana, a space that reflects its universe.


CEO INTERVIEW

Representation of the Ultimate Luxury
Damien Bertrand / Loro Piana CEO

Loro Piana carries on the passion that its founder, Pietro Loro Piana, had when he founded the company 100 years ago, through its various businesses and craftsmanship. The Maison’s strong business is led by Damien Bertrand, CEO. He was appointed as CEO in 2021, and has been implementing various strategies in the Maison’s three businesses: Textiles, Luxury Goods, and Interiors. What is the growth strategy envisioned by the CEO with extensive international experience?

WWD: Would you please tell us about Loro Piana, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary?
Bertrand: Loro Piana is the representation of the ultimate luxury. The rich history we have in textile is what still makes us recognizable at first touch. True luxury is taking the right time to search for excellence, to search for the best materials and create the most qualitative collections. Loro Piana offers the pinnacle of timeless elegance, the best and the most refined fibres in the world, in modern and contemporary silhouettes.

WWD: What was your biggest mission when you were first appointed as CEO in 2021?
Bertrand: When I arrived in Loro Piana, almost 3 years ago, I decided to really understand the Maison, to discover its heritage, its history, which is fascinating. We started working with the team to develop the new Loro Piana silhouette: more modern, stylish, contemporary, but still timeless, so that people could recognize the stylistic signature of Loro Piana. At the same time, we brought women and men’ collections together, with the same inspiration. Now both silhouettes speak to each other, the menswear moves with the womenswear, the womenswear moves with the menswear.

WWD: What is the most growing category?
Bertrand: Loro Piana’s growth has been very dynamic and balanced in each product category since 3 years. This makes our growth very healthy and sustainable. Leather goods is growing season after season: some of our bags for example, such as the Bale Bag and the Extra Bag, are now among the most searched for and desired. We also just introduced new product categories, like Costume Jewelry. The collection of bracelets and necklaces celebrates the Maison’s inestimable heritage of craftsmanship and innovation.

WWD: For the CashDenim®, the unique fabric created through a special partnership with Loro Piana’s craftsmen and Japanese Denim specialists. What was the background to the collaboration?
Bertrand: CashDenim® was created in a rare knowledge-exchange between Loro Piana artisans in Piedmont, Italy, and experts in denim manufacturing in Bingo Region, Japan. This project has come to life in the mutual respect for artisanal cloth-making which exists between two of the world’s great textile traditions. On one hand, the historic Japanese know-how of the makers of Bingo Region, whose inimitable creation of selvedge denim is uniquely embedded in the ownership of specialist shuttle looms. On the other hand, the Loro Piana culture of pushing every limit of innovation in pursuit of excellence, and the Loro Piana mastery of precious fibres.

WWD: It seems that you are also focusing on revamping the image of the House.
Bertrand: We changed the image of our communication. You may have seen the evolution of the advertising campaigns, the new representation of our silhouette: the Campaigns are now more elevated and sophisticated, with a new light. We also developed a new store concept: starting from Sergio Loro Piana’s vison, the new concept preserves the original core elements and feeling through natural materials, warm color palette and our signature oak wood Carabottino elements, whilst bringing a touch of modernity.

WWD: What is the position of Ginza Store and what was the intention of its renovation?
Bertrand: Ginza plays a key role in the worldwide store network of Loro Piana. Therefore, we wanted to offer the best experience to our Japanese customers. Last year we introduced our new store concept, and we felt it was important to bring it to Ginza as well. The new concept and interior design direction featured in the Ginza Store showcases Loro Piana’s iconic style, preserving the core elements. Every element of the store is a pure expression of the Maison, from the choice of materials to the colors, not to forget the products and the silhouettes.

WWD: Where Loro Piana is targeting for the coming 100 years?
Bertrand: The Maison has changed a lot in the last years, but we have always been anchoring back to the excellence, obsession for quality, tradition, innovation, to the heritage and to the family. Today, in a world that goes fast, the celebration of heritage is very important. We will continue to pursue excellence, by valorising the savoir-faire and the trusted relationships with the different stakeholders in a responsible way.

Excellence and Elegance: Denim’s New Frontier
Loro Denim, a capsule collection that expresses Loro Piana’s craftsmanship in denim, debuts in the Fall/Winter 2024-25 season. The collection features timeless jeans and jackets elegantly tailored with innovative denim fabrics and craftsmanship, opening up new possibilities for denim. The collection includes 63 items, such as a jacket with a detachable cashmere gilet, Cash Denim® jeans, clean-looking tops and pants that can be worn as a set, and versatile bags and shoes. The denim used for the items also varies. Cash Denim® is a combination of 60% cotton and 40% cashmere, created in a rare knowledge exchange between Loro Piana artisans in Piedmont, Italy, and experts in denim manufacturing in Bingo Region in Japan. In addition to selvedge denim, the lineup includes a variety of expressive denim such as “Cash Denim® Reactive” with solid blue dye, Denim Flower, Denim Chambray, and Sea Island denim.