Three centuries and eleven generations later, Piacenza Fratelli has flourished into a mill renowned for its commitment to craftsmanship and innovation. And it's not due only to the "finest qualities" of the water. Piacenza's stature in the global fashion industry owes itself to a deep-seated passion to creating beautiful textiles that simultaneously preserve craft & culture while pushing the envelope of design innovation.
As early as 1819, the Piacenza family looked outside the confines of their small town in Biella to seek design inspiration from Europe's leading innovators. Thanks to the talents of French engineer Pierre Simon Girard, they brought the first hydroelectric power plant to Pollone.
At the same time, Giovanni Piacenza's - Pietro Francesco Piacenza's grandson - fashioned a new technique of weaving wool with decorative motives. And the mill sought out fibres of the highest quality - alpaca wool from Peru to cashmere from Mongolia to the finest merino from Australia's sheep farms.
The family's outward looking strategy suited them well. By 1940, 70% of Piacenza Fratelli's quintessential production was sold abroad - to leading fashion houses from Paris to New York. And as World War II's bleak economic consequences spread across Europe, and wool fibres became increasingly scarce Felice Piacenza introduced a new type of fabric that utilized different types of animal hair. He presented these innovations to King Victor Emmanuel III.from Peru to cashmere from Mongolia to the finest merino from Australia's sheep farms.Today, Piacenza Fratelli continues to move the needle on the latest design innovations in the global textiles sector.