Take the name of a Himalayan goat, renowned for the wool that provides a top quality cashmere, add the offer of an accessibly priced Italian knitwear mill, and the result is Falconeri, a brand belonging to the Calzedonia group since 2009. In the HQ in Avio in the province of Trento, 150 machines laid out in a line produce 1900 jumpers on average each day, from ultra-soft to three strand. “We manage to manufacture 95% of our products by machine, that is how we keep prices so competitive,” explains Pierangelo Fenzi, who founded the brand in 2000 before selling it to the group led by Sandro Veronesi, but holding on to his position as creative director in the men’s style department. The remaining 5% of the product is done by hand by craftsmen specializing in attaching collars, edgings and washing.
Washing in the world of wool is the alter ego of finishing in the world of textiles, and it is of vital importance if the garment is to be successful. A garment that has not yet been washed is very rough, and an untrained eye would hardly believe it was cashmere; “The difference of dyes and wash-cycle times is of the utmost importance,” Fenzi tells me, as he shows me the difference between a jumper yet to be treated – dry and coarse – and a finished one, which is as soft as fluffy cloud.
You often hear the term “two-ply cashmere”, so I asked Fenzi to clarify exactly what it means: a genuine “two-ply cashmere” is made with two threads with 2/28 count, rather than two threads of 1/28 count, which are much more commonplace on the market, seeing as they cost less. In yarn counts, the first number indicates the number of threads and the second the thickness of them. A very low number refers to a thicker thread, which requires a very different working process from those with a high count, used for example in ultra-soft products.
I take a fascinating trip into the department where they use computer software to instruct the machines and create a certain type of thread, either with patterns or for specific fits. The difference between knit creation and the world of fabrics is stark: fabrics are cut only after having been made in the machines, while knit can be created already cut to size, in accordance with the type of fit required by the finished garment; this information is relayed by the software which “speaks” to the machines. This process requires a totally different creative outlook, as well as a highly professional vision imposed by whoever is in charge of designing the new collections.
Bespoke hugs,
Fabio
