The other day I had to empty my soul house, in Portofino (on the Genoese coast), after thirty years, and I rediscovered some clothes from twenty years ago that I still really like.” Franco Loro Piana is a perfect heir to the vision that led the family business to become a symbol of eternal elegance, extreme quality and taste that surpasses decades and trends. In more recent times, his surname has also become a symbol of quiet luxury, the discreet luxury popularized by the Succession series.
Franco, 41, is the latest generation of a family saga that began a century ago in the Alpine valleys between Turin and Milan. Today he is no longer directly linked to the high fashion brand Loro Piana, known, among other things, for its cashmere or vicuña sweaters valued at several thousand euros, a status symbol of those who know what they are buying and can afford it. , “an elegance without concessions,” specifies the young businessman. Loro Piana, in fact, was sold ten years ago to LVMH, the enormous and voracious French luxury group run by Bernard Arnault.
The change of ownership, he says, “was a shame for everyone and I am convinced that if we had not sold we would have been able to continue because we carry it in our DNA, while in such a large group it is more difficult to find your space to express yourself. But life goes on". In fact, Franco Loro Piana founded his new brand in 2017: Sease, whose mission is clear from the name. It is the fusion of sea, sea, and ease which, in addition to the sound reminiscent of easy, is a nautical verb that in English means to release the sails, to give them more freedom.
Sease was created by Franco together with his brother Giacomo, proving that family is a destiny. It is a completely independent project of LVMH, of which the Loro Piana heirs remain partners, and whose gateway to the Spanish market is Santa Eulalia, the historic and exclusive fashion store on Barcelona's Passeig de Gràcia, expertly directed by Luis Sans. “Spain is a very interesting market and also much more difficult than others. There is a great aesthetic culture but still very price-oriented,” argues the businessman.
Franco Loro Piana has affable manners, he expresses himself with passion and, like most Milanese – even though he is a Piedmontese by birth – he sprinkles his sentences with English words; he wears an elegant Solaro suit with a sash and sneakers. Solaro, a color similar to beige, is one of the first technical fabrics in history, which later became an immortal symbol of elegance and style. Iridescent and luminous, it is the undisputed choice for contemporary gentlemen's suits: “he was the favorite of Gianni Agnelli and King Charles III,” explains the Italian.
Sease wants to represent this world, elegant, refined and quality men's fashion, but also combine it with the passion for outdoor sports. Specifically, her proposal is divided into three areas: city (urban), sea (sailing) and mountains (skiing). For now, the commercial strategy involves approaching the public through some single-brand stores located in Milan and in the hot spots of luxury tourism, both in the snow and at sea, from Saint Moritz to Porto Cervo, and in other select locations. distributors around the world.
Franco, who is dedicated to the creative side, while Giacomo takes care of the commercial side, thus explains his vocation. “People like me, who are lucky enough to come from a successful business environment, but above all full of feeling and passion, obviously have a somewhat marked path, although my father always left me free to do whatever I wanted.”
It was a path of personal growth: “After leaving the family business in 2013, I found myself in a kind of identity crisis, then I realized that I wanted to create something new that was based on my passions. In college, when we went to regattas with our friends, I designed the uniforms that we then wore throughout the year. "I have always understood the world of raw materials very well, but I didn't know that I had this love for the product inside me and I would never have discovered it if I had stayed at Loro Piana," Franco says while lighting a cigarette.
But a red thread exists and, in addition to passion, the ingredients of Sease are the same that characterized the epic of Loro Piana: highly monitored supply chain and extreme quality of natural materials, research and innovation in fibers and handmade fabrics . The firm takes the issue of sustainability very seriously, a value requested by the market but which remains difficult to express clearly to avoid greenwashing.
“Sustainability is a must but, in my opinion, we should not boast about it, also because in reality no one yet knows which is the most correct path. I know that if I consume 100 I have to understand how to consume 60 and invest in processes, materials and people,” explains the Italian who then adds: “you have to educate, but the one who really makes the decisions is still the consumer. Ultimately, creating timeless products is a form of sustainability.”
Sease's positioning is clearly premium, however, Franco assures: “we do not want to be an excessively luxurious brand, but rather a young and contemporary one. “We want to talk about passions with curious people.” In this sense, the scion of Loro Piana is more interested in the mission than in turnover (about 10 million expected by 2024): “for people of my generation and social status, luxury as an end in itself was becoming unattractive. I would like to design clothes that become loyal friends of those who buy them, that represent them and that last for many years, like the ones I found in the Portofino house.”
