MILAN — Loro Piana has long embraced connecting with nature, in alignment with the precious fabrics it employs and sources from farms stretching from Australia to Peru. Now the brand is launching a women’s and men’s collection called “Into the Wild,” conceived for life in the outdoors, with a focus on technical performance and innovation.
“At Loro Piana we always explore new territories,” the brand’s chief executive officer Damien Bertrand told WWD. “Today, people are seeking to reconnect with nature, yet there was no wardrobe both elevated and technical enough to accompany connoisseurs on their adventures outdoors. So we decided to create the Into the Wild collection.”
It comprises bomber jackets, hooded parkas, anoraks, rainproof capes, vests, jumpers, trousers, leggings and shorts and is completed by accessories including gloves, collars, bucket hats, socks and backpacks.
The palette ranges from rosemary green and sage, to brown antelope and black coffee, sand and nougat and touches of coral orange, black and periwinkle.
The collection, said Bertrand, is Loro Piana’s “take on performance wear, combining sensorial touch of our unique fabrics with technical innovation.”
A look from Loro Piana’s “Into the Wild” collection.
Loro Piana’s expertise with fabrics is reflected in the silks and cashmeres treated to resist the elements and that are part of the collection. Natural fibers such as wool come with three-layer technical membranes, enhancing performance.
The company is presenting another technical innovation, the Graphene, a membrane with heat-conducting properties, distributing body heat evenly for thermal comfort.
This thin and yet very resistant material is obtained by transforming graphite, a crystalline form of carbon. Graphene can be blended with Loro Piana‘s finest fibers, such as wool and cashmere.
“The Into the Wild collection is a new silhouette, connecting with a new generation of connoisseurs that like to seek adventures outdoors and reconnect with nature,” continued Bertrand. It is “also the ideal companion for the modern explorers with an hectic and active lifestyle. It is showcasing Loro Piana’s heritage as textile innovator in a dynamic and surprising way.”
The high-performing garments feature Curly Cashfur and Loro Piana’s trademarked Coarsehair for a rugged softness on knitwear, and are treated for rain-resistant performance.
The collection, which also includes a sleeping bag and a camping chair in canvas and leather over a wooden frame and suitcase stripe details, will be available starting from Wednesday in selected Loro Piana boutiques and on loropiana.com.
“At Loro Piana, we have a passion for quality, performance and precious fibers,” Bertrand said. “This obsession has pushed us to always innovate and find new ways to cater to the curious connoisseurs, wherever they are.”
A look from Loro Piana’s “Into the Wild” collection.
Defining the collection as “an elevated take on performance wear, fusing ultimate quality with a sensorial touch and technical expertise,” Bertrand believes “it really sets us apart, staying true to our codes but reinventing them in a modern and dynamic way.”
Loro Piana will open a series of pop-ups and pop-ins to launch the collection, from Aspen to Shanghai, starting Wednesday and running until July 10.
The tent-shaped pop-ups and outdoor climbing-inspired pop-ins will feature forest wallpaper juxtaposed with oak wood. Rocks, climbing ropes and bouldering equipment will be displayed in the windows.
Further conveying the message, oil lamps and rolled tent sidewalls will be included in the interiors of the pop-ups and mannequins will stand on gravel.
The pop-ins are to be located in Crans-Montana and Saint Moritz in Switzerland; in Milan’s Via Montenapoleone; in Paris; London; Aspen; San Francisco; Ginza, and Beijing, Chengdu, Shenzhen and Nanjing, China.
The pop-ups will be located in Gstaad in Switzerland; Holt Renfrew, Vancouver; Skybridge in Canada; Roppongi Hills O-Yane Plaza in Japan; Beijing SKP 1F Atriu and in Jiu Zhai Gou at Rissai Valley in China; Bellavita Atrium in Taipei, and Ion Orchard Mall in Singapore.
Looks from Loro Piana’s “Into the Wild” collection.
Loro Piana established in 1997 the annual Record Bale Award, which has been driving the brand’s quest for increasingly finer merino wool fibers to reach superior quality.
Through the Record Bale competition, Loro Piana has created the Gift of Kings, ultrafine wool. The name is inspired by the Spanish royal family’s practice of gifting pairs of merino sheep to other monarchs to honor these relationships. In the second half of the 18th century, the animals were taken to New Zealand and Australia, where the habitat proved ideal.