MILAN — After two years of extensive research, the trademarked Loro Piana Royal Lightness yarn and fabric are being unveiled by the storied Italian luxury brand. As a yarn, it’s a mix of silk and merino wool, and as fabric, it’s a blend of silk and cashmere.

Developed and processed by its in-house team at its facilities in Roccapietra and Quarona, Italy, Loro Piana is ranking Royal Lightness among its consolidated excellences, such as The Gift of Kings.

The yarn is so fine and delicate that Loro Piana in a statement contended it is “nearly impossible to knit” without the company’s expertise as it requires  “extreme precision, skill and know-how to prevent breaking the threads.”

The yarn blends Mulberry silk, also known as Royal Silk, which is the finest silk in the world, measuring a mere 21 deniers, and merino wool sourced from Australia and New Zealand measuring 13.5 microns. Loro Piana explained that only 0.05 percent of the annual world production of merino wool falls within the 13.0- to 13.8-micron range.  

The Mulberry silk and the merino wool are sealed with a special finish for added delicacy and luminosity.

Loro Piana’s artisans comb and spin the materials then twist two strands of yarn together in a measured manner, which enhances the innate qualities of each fiber.

The Loro Piana Royal Lightness fabric unites Mulberry Silk and the finest cashmere. Weighing just 350 grams per meter, this double-sided material combines 21-denier organzino silk with long-fiber 15-micron cashmere.

“The silk thread is skillfully wrapped around the cashmere to give it luster, a subtle sheen and the necessary strength for weaving. During the final stages, the woven fabric is tumbled with care for a fluffy, raised pile that embodies a signature Loro Piana touch. Finally, it is brushed, raised and shaved to add depth and direction, achieving a unique light-reflecting quality,” the company stated.

The rare and artisanal technique of fell stitching, performed by hand with thread and needle, is the last phase of the fabrication, ensuring a smooth finish on both the outer and inner sides of the garment.

Underscoring the importance of this new development, Loro Piana is unveiling a dedicated digital and print campaign focusing on the lightness of the fabrics.

One image captures a fluid, deconstructed coat held by its shawl collar with a single finger. A second image features fine yarns running across like the strings of a musical instrument, imaginatively playing with the concept of lightness.

Beneath each image, a short caption describes the features of Loro Piana Royal Lightness, which has a dedicated label certifying its uniqueness.

The campaign nods to archival Loro Piana communication from the 1990s and to campaigns dedicated to the precious dark Merino Pecora Nera wool, to its signature White Sole shoe, and to the Loro Piana Record Bale Award.

Loro Piana sources vicuña from Peru, cashmere from Mongolia, and the finest, rarest wools from New Zealand and Australia — a research fueled over the years by Pier Luigi Loro Piana, whose textile expertise, passion and commitment is second to none.

Loro Piana in 1997 established the annual Record Bale Award, driving his and the brand’s quest for increasingly finer merino wool fibers every year. The company established the Franco Loro Piana Reserve in the Lucana area in Peru in 2008 and has significantly contributed to saving vicuñas from extinction.

The Loro Piana family began trading wool and fine textiles at the beginning of the 19th century in Trivero, in northern Italy. Pietro Loro Piana founded the company as a wool mill in 1924 in the country’s Quarona. In the mid-1940s, Franco Loro Piana started exporting precious textiles outside of Italy, an activity further developed by his sons Sergio and Pier Luigi in the 1970s, when they started helming the firm and expanding into luxury retail operations. Sergio died in 2013, aged 65. Sergio’s wife, Maria Luisa, and Pier Luigi Loro Piana continue to serve as members of the board of directors.

The brand is helmed by Frédéric Arnault, who was named chief executive officer last year, moving on from his role as CEO of LVMH Watches. 

As reported, the bond between LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton and Loro Piana has become even tighter. The French luxury group last month confirmed the partial buyout of the Italian company’s shares held by the Loro Piana family, which occurred in 2025.

LVMH has raised its stake to 94 percent from 85 percent through the acquisition of an additional 9 percent of shares for 1 billion euros, via a call option. This was exercised in accordance with the terms of the original agreement that brought Loro Piana into LVMH in 2013.

With this operation, the brand is now valued at 11 billion euros.

The agreement signals LVMH’s confidence in Loro Piana’s potential and future growth. While LVMH does not break down sales by brand, the value of Loro Piana is understood to have increased four times since 2013.