The journey for one of Luca Faloni’s linen shirts begins in the flax fields of Normandy, northern France, though, as the designer asserts, they are 100 per cent Italian in their construction. ‘[Normandy] has the perfect climate for growing flax, which is widely known to be where the best linen in the world comes from,’ says Faloni, who founded his eponymous label in 2014. ‘[But] the textile itself is manufactured in Northern Italy by Albini, one of the oldest textile producers in Italy and makers of the best linen fabric in the world.’ As such, each piece is stamped with ‘Proudly Made in Italy’, the foundational principle of the label.
Faloni, who was born in Turin, Italy, worked as a business consultant at Bain & Co in San Francisco when he decided to leave to begin the brand, which is based on the philosophy of Italian craft he remembers surrounding him while growing up. Ten years later, he has amassed a global following – stores have opened in New York, Miami, Munich, Zurich, Milan and Stockholm, while a Paris opening is on the cards for later this year – largely down to his discreetly elegant wardrobe, which focusses on generational artisanal craft in the so-called noble fabrics of cashmere, silk and virgin wool.
