Cashmere, vicuna, and 14 generations in Pollone.

Fratelli Piacenza was founded in 1733 in Pollone by Pietro Francesco Piacenza. The mill sits in the Biella province of Piedmont, in the same alpine wool valley that holds Vitale Barberis Canonico in Pratrivero, Zegna in Trivero, and Lanificio Cerruti in the Biella municipality on the Cervo stream. Piacenza predates Cerruti by 148 years; the only older family operated wool mill in continuous operation is Vitale Barberis Canonico, founded 1663 in Pratrivero, 70 years before Piacenza.

The mill has stayed in Piacenza family hands across 14 generations, a continuity rare in European industry of any kind. The brand operates today as PIACENZA 1733 (formerly Piacenza Cashmere on the consumer side). The family is a member of Les Henokiens, the international association of family businesses active for at least 200 years, alongside Vitale Barberis Canonico. The 14th generation of the Piacenza family leads the modern direction of the company around sustainability and luxury fiber sourcing today.

Piacenza built one of the recognized commercial vicuna sourcing programs in the industry through partnership agreements with Peruvian highland communities. The agreement supports the local communities and gives Piacenza access to vicuna fleece harvested on a sustainable rotation. The mill holds Benefit Corporation status and ISO 14001 certification, runs on renewable energy, and operates a sustainability framework spanning people, planet, product, process, and partnership. The sustainability commitment is structural rather than promotional; the brand built the framework around the practices.

Piacenza concentrates the bunch library at the luxury fiber end of the suiting cloth scale. Pure cashmere cloth runs across multiple weights for jacket, suit, and overcoat register. Cashmere wool blends carry the technical cashmere category: the cloth presses softer than wool but wears with the durability of wool, useful for clients who want cashmere register without the upkeep of pure cashmere construction. Cashtec is the technical cashmere flagship: cashmere woven with stretch and travel resilience built in.

Caprino is the Piacenza kid mohair bunch, with a softer hand than standard mohair wool blends like Dormeuil Tonik. The cloth reads silkier in the press and carries a quieter shimmer under direct light. The Piacenza vicuna program produces cloth at roughly 12 micron fineness through the Peruvian community partnership sourcing. Vicuna is the rarest natural fiber commercially woven and the Piacenza book sits as one of the standard references in the international luxury trade alongside Loro Piana vicuna.

Beyond the luxury fiber library, Piacenza runs standard worsted bunches across Super 130s through Super 200s for year round business commissions. The mill operates the full production cycle on site in Pollone: raw fiber selection, spinning, dyeing, weaving, and finishing. The hand reads as classic Italian softness with a slight technical edge that 14 generations of cashmere depth gives the worsted register; the wool feels softer than the weight suggests, a Piacenza signature.

Piacenza fits the wardrobe that wants luxury fiber identity. Cashmere suits and odd jackets for the cooler months. Cashmere wool blends for the year round commission that wants cashmere register with wool durability. Vicuna for the rarest commission moment, where the cloth alone sits in a tier most clients never reach. Caprino kid mohair for the dressier fall and winter commission that wants the silkier mohair register.

For the year round business book, Piacenza Super 130s through Super 200s worsteds sit at upper luxury fineness comparable to Loro Piana Wish, Scabal Super 200s, and Dormeuil Royal Riviera. The standard suiting cloth runs as part of a wider Piacenza commission, but the cashmere and vicuna bunches drive the register that the mill is known for.

Piacenza sits at upper luxury on per meter pricing. Cashmere bunches commission at the bespoke tier with cloth alone at the higher end of the bespoke range. Vicuna sits in a separate tier entirely, with cloth alone in the four figure to five figure range before construction. Standard worsteds and Cashtec technical cashmere work across both bespoke and upper made to measure.

Piacenza commissions concentrate among clients building the cashmere and rare fiber register of their wardrobe. Senior executives with matured wardrobes commissioning the dressier cashmere suit, principal level grooms commissioning the heritage vicuna wedding commission, and clients building the formal evening register at the rarest cloth tier. The audience overlaps with the Loro Piana wedding suit register and the Scabal specialty bunch commission. The differentiator is the cashmere depth: 14 generations of single family cashmere operation in Pollone produces a cashmere register that the upper Italian mills with broader worsted books cannot match on cashmere alone.

Bespoke wedding suits in Piacenza cloth land for grooms commissioning at the rarest cloth tier. Multi piece executive commissions that include cashmere odd jackets, vicuna overcoats, and cashmere wool business suits roll into executive wardrobe planning naturally. The construction detail at the upper tier sits on the bespoke tier rather than made to measure. For the Biella neighbor mill comparison, see the worsted heritage at Vitale Barberis Canonico, the only family operated wool mill older than Piacenza in continuous operation.