Holding the raw material in my hand, it was as if somebody had worked out how to shear a cloud, such was the softness and lightness of the fibres. One kid produces no more than 30 to 40 grams of usable material, so the fleeces of 19 kids are needed to make just one pullover.

The Piazza di Siena is a prestigious equestrian competition celebrating its 90th year as part of the sport’s international calendar, with Loro Piana now sponsoring the event for over 20-years.

On a balmy, sunny day at the Piazza di Siena, a prestigious equestrian competition held in Rome’s picturesque Villa Borghese park, I grabbed an opportunity to speak with Pier Luigi Loro Piana, the man who, along with his late brother Sergio, transformed the company into the Loro Piana we know today.

He is immaculately presented, head-to-toe, in a Loro Piana outfit and has a graceful, calm air about him. He greets me with a warm, disarming smile.

“My father, until he passed away in 1980, was producing fabrics for high-end clothing,” he tells me.

“We had a passion for quality suits and clothing ourselves, so my brother and I felt it was natural for us to take the company in that direction. The philosophy of using small batch, high-quality production techniques and not going into the lower segments of the market with mass production and easy manufacturing was important. It’s sometimes tempting to take the easy route to make quick money, but if you want to be seen as a specialist, you can’t do both. If you want to produce a perfect fabric to a high specification with no defects, it’s expensive to do and the process is going to be labour intensive.

“It’s also important to keep people involved in as much of the process as possible because, from examining the raw fibres through to the rolls of material, only a person can tell if the quality is up to our standard.”

I note that his products seem to be aimed at the over-thirties, and ask if he might consider going for a younger audience.

“Definitely,” he says. “When someone buys something of ours I want them to have a very long-term relationship with us. Some people, have shown me a Loro Piana coat they own and said ‘See this? It’s 30 years old.’ I reply: ‘So what? That’s what it’s engineered for!’.

“It’s like having a classic car; when your son or daughter is a child they might not appreciate the car when you drive them around in it, but as they grow older they learn to like it and will probably want it when they are adults themselves.”

“I’d like people to start appreciating the products, maybe in their twenties. The thing my sons liked to do was to take my old shoes because they saw me wearing them and admired the quality.”

I ask who he admires for their dress sense.

“There is one man I do like to dress, and I like how he dresses in general: the old King of Spain, Juan Carlos I. I’m honoured to be considered a friend of his, and I think he is an elegant man. I think Prince Charles is sophisticated.”

“There are a few movie stars who wear Loro Piana pieces, too, but I can’t say their names, though they are happy with what they have bought.”

Some people who are quite wealthy can dress badly, I suggest.

“You always have to respect the freedom of people to wear what they want,” he replies, “but it’s important for people to respect their company depending on the situation they’re in. For instance, the boss of a company should dress appropriately for his workers, otherwise, they may resent him for it.”

What about Mark Zuckerberg, I ask him.

“I don’t think Mark Zuckerberg does this on purpose to show that he can dress how he wants, wherever he wants. It’s common where he works to dress like that, and he is very young so still has time to appreciate this. I don’t think he’ll still be dressing like a teenager when he’s 60 or 70 years old.”

“Our weatherproofing system comes from the natural fibres, something we’ve been researching since the early Nineties, and it produces much less CO2 than the equivalent nylon jacket. That’s something he would appreciate.”

I can’t tear myself away without asking for his tips on dressing stylishly.

“First of all,” he says, “always dress appropriately for the occasion and for the company you are going to be in. For a man, a jacket always gives a better look than any kind of sweater, depending on where you are, obviously, but with casual wear a jacket always looks better. And take care with your accessories. You can’t have a nice suit with ugly shoes, for instance.”

“If you or someone else has taken the time to pick out a suit perfect for you, make sure the shoes are good enough to match it.”

Find out more by visiting www.loropiana.com

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