Loro Piana Fabric in Dubai: The Rare Fibres Behind a Bespoke Suit

Introduction

Why does one grey cloth feel so different from another that looks identical across the room? The answer often starts at the mill. This guide looks at Loro Piana fabric in Dubai: where the house comes from, what it weaves, and how its cloths behave in the heat.

It is the first post in our Fabric Knowledge series, in which we take one fabric house at a time and follow the cloth from fibre to finished garment. Loro Piana is one of the mills in our cloth book. If you want the vocabulary first, our guides to wool grades and to wool for hot, humid and cool weather cover the terms used below.

The House: From Wool Merchants to a Mill in Quarona

The Loro Piana story starts well before the company name. The family, originally from Trivero, began as merchants of woollen cloth at the start of the 19th century, and in 1924 the engineer Pietro Loro Piana founded Loro Piana & C. in Quarona, in Piedmont. When LVMH announced its stake in 2013, the family's heads were the sixth generation to work in fine textiles.

After the Second World War, Franco Loro Piana, Pietro's grandson, began exporting to Europe, the Americas and Japan. In the 1970s his sons Sergio and Pier Luigi turned the company's focus to top-quality fabric development, including cashmere and extra-fine wools.

The house began working with vicuña fibre in 1994. In 1997 it agreed with the government of Peru and Andean villages to source vicuña only from living animals, and in 2008 it helped finance Peru's first private nature preserve for the species. LVMH acquired an 80% stake in July 2013 and lifted its holding to 94% at the end of 2025.

The company handles the main stages of production, from raw materials to finished products, with its manufacturing facilities in Italy located primarily in the Valsesia area.

The Fibres

Loro Piana buys fibre where it is finest, and for cashmere it works directly with the herders who breed the goats. Its own Finest Fibers page sets out four.

• Vicuña. Loro Piana describes it as the finest, rarest animal fibre in the world, with an average diameter of 12.5 to 13 microns. The fibre is gathered once every two years, and each adult yields about 250 grams of fleece, which falls to 120 to 150 grams once the coarser hairs are removed.

• Cashmere. The finest lots come from Mongolia, where each goat yields around 450 to 500 grams of raw fibre a year, falling to no more than 250 grams after dehairing. Baby cashmere, from the young Hircus goat, is described by Loro Piana's Dutch dealer OGÉR as 13 to 13.5 microns.

• Merino. Sourced from Australia and New Zealand, where Loro Piana says only 18 million of Australia's 75 million sheep produce wool under 19 microns. The house also buys the Record Bales, the finest bales produced each year.

• Pecora Nera. Wool from black merino sheep bred in New Zealand, which Loro Piana calls ultra-soft and exceptionally light, ideal for the transitional seasons.

Our founder and CEO told Gulf Business in 2019 that our winter range includes cashmere and vicuña cloths. Our guide to cashmere in Dubai covers how it performs, and our wool grades guide explains how micron counts relate to Super numbers.

Signature Cloths for Tailoring

Loro Piana weaves its tailoring cloth under named qualities, and four show the range.

• Tasmanian. Among the lightest wools in the world, at 250 grams per metre, made with fine lots of 170'S wool whose fibre measures 15 microns. It became iconic in the 1960s as a reinterpretation of a cloth the house made for ecclesiastical apparel, and it is also offered as Summer Tasmanian and Winter Tasmanian.

• Australis. A Super 150's merino from Australia, chosen for its softness and fluidity. The Natural Stretch version carries an internal memory that lets the fibre return to its original shape.

• Linen from Solbiati. Loro Piana owns the linen specialist Solbiati, which Permanent Style described in 2019 as having probably the largest range of plain, lightweight linens, in the 8 to 9 oz Italian weight that sits below the 11 to 12 oz Irish linens.

• Cashmere and Storm System. Cashmere belongs to the winter wardrobe, and Storm System is, in Loro Piana's dealer's words, a technology that makes wool and cashmere water-repellent without compromising their softness or breathability.

How Loro Piana Cloth Wears in Dubai

Weight does most of the work. Our dress code guide describes Dubai's day as a move from 45°C streets to air-conditioned boardrooms, and a cloth has to manage both. A luxury magazine's account of Loro Piana's Tasmanian says the cloth was created in the 1960s for clothing particularly suited to air-conditioned environments. Permanent Style's reviewer judged the 250 g worsteds good for lightweight summer suits, a balance of luxury and performance, and added that winter calls for something heavier.

Table sources: Loro Piana on Tasmanian, Loro Piana on Australis and Permanent Style.

Ask for the weight in grams alongside the name, because Tasmanian alone is offered in Summer and Winter versions. For the cooler months, our guides to wool for hot, humid and cool weather and to linen in Dubai summer help match the cloth to the calendar.

Five Questions for the Cloth Book

A swatch shows how a cloth feels in the hand, and five questions show how it will behave on you.

1. What is the weight? Ask for grams per metre, the measure Loro Piana uses for Tasmanian. Weight on its own does not settle comfort, as our guide to two suits cut from the same fabric weight explains.

2. What is the fibre, and how fine? Loro Piana states fineness in both S numbers and microns, as with the 170'S, 15-micron Tasmanian. Our wool grades guide explains how the two relate.

3. Is it a standing quality or a seasonal cloth? Some cloths are around for only six months, so ask whether a favourite will still be available.

4. Where will it be worn? An air-conditioned office, an outdoor wedding and a winter evening call for different cloths, and the answer decides between wool, linen and cashmere.

5. How will it be made up? Construction changes how a cloth wears, and our guide to canvas versus fused construction shows what to ask your tailor.

What We Cut From It at Kachins

Loro Piana is one of the mills in our cloth book, and its cloth can become any of the pieces we make: a bespoke suit, a blazer, a waistcoat or trousers.

Mill collections change from season to season, and some cloths are around for only six months, so ask for the current book. Measurements can be taken at any of our four Dubai ateliers or through our home and office service, described on our Bespoke Tailoring To Your Doorstep page. To see the cloths and weights, book an appointment.

Caring for Fine Fibres

Fine fibres reward gentle handling. Our Care Guide and our guide to caring for a bespoke suit in Dubai's heat and humidity set out how to look after fine cloth in this climate.

Next in Fabric Knowledge: Ermenegildo Zegna.

Frequently Asked Questions

What makes Loro Piana fabric different?

It starts with the fibre. Loro Piana sources vicuña, cashmere and superfine merino directly, and its production is vertically integrated, with control over the process at every stage.

Is Loro Piana cloth suitable for Dubai's heat?

Some of it is. Tasmanian weighs 250 grams per metre and was created for air-conditioned environments, and Solbiati linen suits daytime heat. Heavier cloths and cashmere belong to the cooler months, so choose by weight as well as by name.

What is Tasmanian fabric?

A wool of 250 grams per metre made with fine lots of 170'S wool whose fibre measures 15 microns. It became iconic in the 1960s as a reinterpretation of a cloth the house made for ecclesiastical apparel.

What is baby cashmere?

Cashmere from the young Hircus goat, which Loro Piana's dealer OGÉR describes as 13 to 13.5 microns and noticeably softer than regular cashmere.

Why is vicuña so rare?

Loro Piana says the fibre is gathered once every two years, and each adult yields about 250 grams of fleece that falls to 120 to 150 grams once the coarser hairs are removed. The house sources it only from living animals under a 1997 agreement with Peru.

Can I order a suit in Loro Piana cloth at Kachins?

Loro Piana is one of the mills in our cloth book. Collections change from season to season, so book an appointment to see the current cloths and weights, and ask for a quotation there.