Most Parhela garments begin with Italian fabric. Our loopback cotton, our fleece, our towelling, our wool and the fabric of our Pearlescent Tee all come from Italian mills, some of them with histories stretching back more than two centuries. This article explains why Italy holds such a place in the world of fabric, and how working with these mills shapes everything we make.

Why Italy is known for fabric

Italy has one of the deepest textile traditions in Europe. Generations of family-run mills have refined the craft of spinning, knitting, weaving and finishing, often specialising in a single type of cloth for decades. Many supply the world's leading fashion houses.

That accumulated knowledge shows in the details: how evenly a yarn is spun, how consistently a fabric is knitted, how a finish changes the hand of a cloth after years of wear. These are things that are hard to learn quickly and easy to lose at scale.

What fabric quality means in practice

• Consistency. A well-made fabric behaves the same way across a whole roll, so every garment feels the same.
• Durability. Dense, even construction resists thinning, stretching and pilling.
• Hand. The way a fabric feels to the touch comes from fibre, construction and finishing working together.
• Ageing. The best fabrics soften and improve with wear rather than deteriorating.

Fabric first, design second

Many of our pieces begin with the discovery of a fabric. The design follows from what the cloth can do. Our Terry Shorts are a good example: we were not intending to release shorts in our first collection until we came across a stunning Italian towelling fabric. The cloth came first, and the garment was designed around it.

The mills behind our pieces

A mill with more than 50 years of luxury textiles

The fabrics for the Snoodie, the Breton and the Terry Shorts come from one of the most renowned mills in Italy, with over 50 years of supplying luxury textiles to some of the top fashion houses in the world. For the Snoodie, it was the finest loopback we could find after almost a year of fabric exploration around Italy.

A mill founded more than 200 years ago

After travelling around Italy in search of the perfect T-shirting fabric, we came across one of the oldest mills, established over 200 years ago by an iconic textile family. Its fabric, with a natural silky sheen, became our Pearlescent Tee.

Our flagship loopback

Our flagship Italian loopback cotton, which perfectly balances softness and strength, is used across the Staple Collection and the Wild Window pieces. We compare it with fleece in loopback cotton versus fleece.

Italian wool

The Minoan Jumper is a jacquard weave on fine 100% Italian wool. The Cappuccino Jumper uses a lightweight cotton, cashmere and wool blend developed in close collaboration with one of Italy's oldest mills. And the Celestial Collection uses an Italian wool blend developed over almost a year with complex needle punch machinery; see needle punch fabric explained.

Italian deadstock

Several outerwear pieces, including the Hybrid Bomber and the Hybrid Puffer, are crafted from Italian deadstock fabrics sourced from a high-end fashion house. Read what deadstock fabric is and why it matters.

The exception: Portuguese modal

One fabric in the collection is not Italian, and for good reason. Our Flight Suit is made from modal, a yarn spun from recycled tree fibres. The Portuguese are at the forefront of modal knitting, and the fabric we chose is the finest available. Fabric first means going wherever the best cloth is made.

From Italian mill to London workshop

Once a fabric is chosen, every garment is crafted in London. Pairing exceptional cloth with careful construction close to home is what allows us to control the details, from ribbing developed specifically for a 580 GSM hoodie to silk linings and natural Corozo buttons. We explain more in made in London: inside our craftsmanship.

Why it matters to you

A garment can only be as good as its fabric. Choosing cloth from mills with generations of expertise means pieces that feel better on day one and keep feeling good years later. That longevity is the heart of our approach, and the reason we design perennial pieces rather than seasonal collections, as we explain in the fashion calendar is broken.

In short

Italy's family-run mills have refined fabric making over generations, producing cloth that is consistent, durable and ages well. Most Parhela fabrics come from Italy, including a mill with more than 50 years of luxury textiles and another founded over 200 years ago, while our modal comes from Portugal, where the finest is made. Every garment is then crafted in London. Discover the results across the full collection, and learn more on our craftsmanship page.