Raw materials

Raw materials carefully selected for both the winter collection (cashmere, alpaca, etc.) and summer collection (silk, linen, etc.), but above all a unique ability to mix them wisely to get the most out of each of them, in compliance with production standards. A success story in the reuse of regenerated fibres (starting with wool), but also an intelligent use of renewable artificial fibres (Viscose FSC)

Wool

 100% Sustainable, biodegradable and, renewable, warm in winter and cool in summer

Virgin wool

Wool is a natural fibre that is mainly obtained from the fleece of sheep and some types of goats.Comfortable, soft, versatile, and durable, wool is today one of the most appreciated and loved fibres of animal origin in the world.Among the high-quality wool producing countries, New Zealand and Australia stand out, as countries of origin of all the virgin wool used in Prato.

Regenerated or mechanical wool

Recycled wool (or mechanical wool) is obtained from the recycling of clothing or processing virgin wool waste.The regenerated cycle is part of the Prato textile tradition and focuses on the classification of the materials to be regenerated by type, composition, fineness of the fibres and colour. Thanks to the wisdom of those who have carried out these processes for decades and the extraordinary durability of wool, the fibres regain their original beauty in a context of circular economy. 

Cashmere

Finer and more subtle than wool and incomparably delicate

Delicate to the touch, silky, velvety, and shiny, cashmere is today one of the world’s most precious and noble fibres. It is obtained in late spring from the fleece of hircus laniger goats, commonly called ‘Kashmir goats’.
These are long-haired and double-coated goats that thrive even in adverse

environmental conditions: in deserts and arid mountain areas. The world’s finest and most precious cashmere stands out for the high fineness of the fibres, their length, and their uniformity, and comes from the highlands of Chinese Inner Mongolia.

Other animal fibers

Camel: a textile fibre that derives from the fleece of the camelus bactrianus, a mammal widespread mainly in Central Asia. The camel fibre has particular thermal characteristics that make it suitable for use in the production of yarns and fabrics.

Alpaca: alpaca wool derives from the homonymous camelid widespread mainly in South America, it is very warm and hypoallergenic and is renowned for its lightness and its silkiness.

Angora: angora wool is a particularly fine fibre that is obtained from the processing of the fur of the angora rabbit and is used pure or mixed with other fibres for the production of high-quality knitted fabrics. It is mainly produced in China, Chile, and Argentina.

Vicuna: Vicuna is a Cammello that lives in the highlands of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru. Thinner than cashmere, the vicuna fibre is one of the most precious in the world. It is an exceptionally soft, silky, resistant, and warm wool that was used by the ancient Incas to weave the robes of the king. 

Yak: the yak fibre derives from the fur of the bovid of the same name that lives in the mountains of Tibet, the Pamir and on the Himalayan slopes, is remarkably similar to cashmere and is often used as an alternative to wool.

Silk

Always considered a symbol of nobility, wealth, exclusivity and luxury

The only fibre resulting from a cross between the animal and plant worlds, silk was discovered in China and for a long time remained a privilege that only the ancient Chinese emperors, priests and a few nobles could afford. It was only from the first century BC that China began exporting its precious silks to the West via the “Silk Road”. 

Silk is also the only natural fibre to be produced with a continuous thread from 300 to 1,200 meters long that is obtained from the cocoon of the silkworm, the Bombyx Mori, an animal that feeds on mulberry leaves to live and develop. 

To the touch the fibre appears soft, fluid, and flexible; in the light it reflects in an inimitable way and spreads elegance and femininity. 

Linen

The oldest textile fibre in the world

Historically linked to Ancient Egypt, where it was used as a bandage for the wrapping of mummies, Linen is today mainly produced in Central Europe. The flax fibre is obtained from a dicotyledonous plant of the linaceae family, today known as Linum Usitatissimum and is exceedingly popular for its resistance, its thermoregulatory capacity, and the elevated level of transpiration.

Furthermore, linen is hypoallergenic and bactericidal, ecological, and natural, therefore highly sustainable.

Short fibres, long fibres, straws and seeds, every single part of the plant is used for the production of various products: from clothing fabrics, to furnishing fabrics, from paper, to food and paints.

Cotton

Noble vegetable fibre, soft and breathable: a treasure offered by nature

Cotton is a vegetable fibre, relatively cheap, soft, and pleasant to wear, has high absorbency and is capable of retaining heat and withstanding high temperatures.

Cotton fibres are obtained from the down that covers the seeds of a shrub native to India that grows in hot countries, the Gossypium.

The processing of fibres has very ancient origins, it is presumed to date back to more than 7,000 years ago, but cotton entered Europe only in the fourteenth century, thanks to the “Compagnie Française des Indes” which traded painted cotton fabrics from India (then printed) that aroused great interest.

Other vegetable fibers

Other natural vegetable fibres are hemp, jute, and ramie, these belong to the so-called Liberian or cortical fibres because they are obtained from the “book” of cotyledons plants, that is, from the area of the plant that is located between the outer bark and the woody central part of the stem. 
Hemp: fibre from the bark of Cannabis Sativa. It has a remarkable resistance, a good absorbency and little elasticity. It resembles linen, with respect to which it is, however, more rigid, rough, and ecological.

Jute: 100%, biodegradable and recyclable, jute fibre is mainly composed of plant materials deriving from cellulose and lignin, has a high tensile strength and guarantees good breathability.

Ramie: remarkably similar to linen and silk due to its characteristics. Ramie ‘fibre is extracted from the stem of two types of plants: Boehmeria Nivea and Boehmeria Tenacissima and is an exceptionally long, elastic fibre with good resistance to torsion. 

Chemical fibers

The result of technological innovation

The evolution of textile fibres, from natural to artificial ones, to arrive at the synthetic ones was dictated by the growing need to satisfy the changing demands of the market in terms of comfort, fashion, and low cost of the textile product, looking for some peculiar and specific characteristics in chemical fibres to improve or simply complete the characteristics of natural fibres.

The chemical fibres can be artificial or synthetic and are obtained by extruding a polymer made liquid by the action of solvents or by fusion, through a plate of noble metals, finely perforated, and called “spinneret”. 
The use of chemical fibres, alone or mixed with natural fibres, has made it possible to achieve elevated levels of quality and performance in the manufacture of textile products such as to satisfy the most sophisticated and specific comfort needs of all sporty, casual, and classic garments.

The evolution of textile fibres, from natural to artificial ones, to arrive atthe synthetic ones was dictated by the growing need to satisfy the changing demands of the market in terms of comfort, fashion, and low cost of the textile product, looking for some peculiar and specific characteristics in chemical fibres to improve or simply complete the characteristics of natural fibres.

The chemical fibres can be artificial or synthetic and are obtained by extruding a polymer made liquid by the action of solvents or by fusion, through a plate of noble metals, finely perforated, and called “spinneret”. 
The use of chemical fibres, alone or mixed with natural fibres, has made it possible to achieve elevated levels of quality and performance in the manufacture of textile products such as to satisfy the most sophisticated and specific comfort needs of all sporty, casual, and classic garments.

Artificial chemical fibres are made with natural products through processes of regeneration of raw materials or processes of modification of basic substances.

Obtained by synthesis in 1884 from Chardonnet, viscose (also called ‘artificial silk’) as well as being the first artificial chemical fibre in history, is one of the best-known artificial fibres in the world. It is a cellulosic and resistant fibre, today widely used in clothing for its versatility and comfort. Another very well-known fibre is acetate, with a soft and delicate feel, with bright and lively colours, it has good breathability and low tendency to wear, it is widely used in sportswear.

The synthetic chemical fibres are made with substances obtained by chemical synthesis, therefore, artificially.The first synthetic textile fibre in the world was Nylon®, obtained by synthesis by Du Pont in 1938.Among the most common synthetic fibres are the light and resistant polyamide fibres used in the production of clothing and furnishing fabrics, acrylic fibres with woolly characteristics launched on the market in the fifties and polyesters, very thin and elastic synthetic fibres, renowned for their creasing.