Just as our time in Italy was drawing to a close we were provided a unique opportunity to meet with Luciano Barbera, the creator of the Barbera Mill and Luciano Barbera brand and founder of the Biella Master of Noble Fibres Programme.
Just as our time in Italy was drawing to a close we were provided a unique opportunity to meet with Luciano Barbera, the creator of the Barbera Mill and Luciano Barbera brand and founder of the Biella Master of Noble Fibres Programme.
Late on Friday afternoon we were picked up by a driver and driven up to the Barbera mill in a secluded valley at the foot of the Italian Alps. Here we meet with Mr Barbera who introduced us to their operation and outlined his family history within the textiles industry. The mill here opened in 1949 where Mr Barbera joined his father and brother in 1968 and took control over fabric design and production. It wasn’t until 1963-64 when Ugo Mulas (of Uomo Vogue) took a photo of Mr Barbera’s fabric and it was pictured on the cover of Fashion Magazine when interest grew in their new generation of textiles. American fashion icon and founder of Louis of Boston, Murray Pearlstein saw these photos and contacted Luciano, interested in purchasing the Luciano Barbera collection. At this point in time Luciano was only producing and designing fabrics with the Carlo Barbera mill. With the encouragement and advice of Mr. Pearlstein, in 1971 he started producing the Luciano Barbera collection, with a specific philosophy: "Clothing for people who believe in individuality and intelligence".
So with this increase in demand they started a small collection of finished garments and created the Luciano Barbera brand. Today they have 200 stores around the world and over 250 customers buying their Italian made fabrics.
The philosophy here is something very special. Mr. Barbera’s dream is not to become big, rather to create style which is discreet and moderate which reflects their way of life. Clothes that become part of peoples personality, just like their voice, their look, and their smile. For this reason the finished garments are all handmade because Mr. Barbera believes that “only people with talent recognise if it has been made by someone with dignity”.
Mr. Barbera and the mill have a high respect for natural materials and don’t want anyone to interfere with their process. We were lucky enough to be shown the cave where their wool is stored underground to relax and settle before processing. Mr. Barbera believes that this tradition has a large effect on the handle of the finished fabrics because the fibre has been allowed to rest from the stresses of manufacture.
Upon leaving the mill Richard Gloag, one of the NZ ambassadors got Mr. Barbera to personally sign the inside the Luciano Barbera suit he purchased earlier in the week – transforming his new suit into something of a rare artefact. From the mill Mr. Barbera drove us down to Biella to the Luciano Barbera retail store where we were shown a wide range of finished product and proceeded to purchase a few items to at least progress our individual style somewhat closer to the Italian finesse we had been amongst for the previous two weeks.
To conclude, the Biella trip was an amazing experience and it couldn’t have finished any better than spending some time with the man that created the Biella Master programme. His passion inspired us all and his respect for the natural fibre is something that has to be seen to be believed. This trip has been a once in a lifetime opportunity from which we are all returning motivated - ready to pass on our newly acquired knowledge, share our experiences, and add value to the NZ Merino industry.
To the Italians we met along the way, I thank you for all of your time and support and we look forward to hosting the Biella Masters when they visit New Zealand in September.
Grazie & salute.
