CRAFTSMANSHIP & LUXURY MATERIALS
CRAFTSMANSHIP
Well-rooted in Florence with its vision projected towards the world. The PISANI MAURA™ company combines the tradition of Made in Italy with the novelty of the corporate structure.
With its three plants, two in Lastra a Signa (FI) and one in Cavriglia (AR) in 2015 the company decided to start manufacturing their own collections by Vittorio Cucci Ryan the grand grand son of Angelo Pisani.
«Today, Pisani Maura™ is first and foremost a multinational – explains entrepreneur Franco Baccani – part of a leading luxury group in France and in the production for big brands.
Pisani has dozens of production sites between Italy and France, employing 1300-1400 people. In Italy, we are developing the business for brands and we have added small leather goods to the production of men’s and women’s bags ».
The strong point of Pisani Maura is technological innovation.
The company can find and work materials of every description: from furs to crocodile and ostrich skins up to python.
It can produce variable volumes (from industrial quantities to single pieces), to develop new models and prototypes, and to offer complete logistics assistance in shipments, thanks to the use of its in-house customs and A.E.O. certification.
«The success of my company is the result of the quality of the product and the people who work with me who are committed to maintaining it».
Two essential characteristics for Vittorio, the owner of Pisani Maura™. The entrepreneur and designer took over a family business that was florishing since the 70s.
Pisani Maura, in the beginning, was a small workshop-store in via Il Prato in Florence, where Vittorio's grand grand father sold his first leather jackets, footwear and belts, custom cut there for the customer. Today the company's numbers speak for themselves and are the calling card of its prestige even outside the national borders.
There are 34 employees and eleven shops open all over the world: three in Florence, three in Rome, then Milan, Verona and Lucca. Pisani Maura's expansion does not stop in Italy, but reaches Kuwait City, Riyadh, Tokyo and Strasbourg.
Over time the production, which began with leather jackets, has also been enhanced with bags, footwear and all the accessories typical of leather goods. Vittorio, the company’s creator, talks to us about his company.
How has Pisani Maura changed during the last five years?
«It has changed exponentially, with a turnover thirty times higher than when the company opened. What has not changed is the quality and originality of our Made in Italy product, made in Scandicci and customized for the client.
We can customize all our products, from belts to bags, to jackets. The staff at our stores is trained to be able to take client measurements with the precision necessary to achieve what people have in mind when they come to us».
Beware though: you will not find any e-commerce with Pisani Maura products. A conscious choice that rewards, first of all, direct contact with the customers, although we have now decided to expand to the online realm».
Are you planning new openings?
«After the inauguration of the third boutique in Florence, in Via dei Calzaiuoli, we plan the next inauguration of a Pisani Maura boutique in Los Angeles in October, with the presence of the actress Katherine Kelly Lang (“Brooke Logan” of The Bold and the Beautiful)».
Why did you choose Scandicci to open your company?
«I am attached to Scandicci and I work to honour its prestigious manufacturing tradition. Our operational and productive headquarters are right there, in the heart of the leather sector of Luxury brands. Our employees are all Florentines and, in particular, most of them come from Scandicci».
What is your evergreen?
«The leather jacket, made to measure if necessary».
Which designer inspires you?
«I grew up with Armani as my idol and the quality that his brand represents».
What makes you the proudest today?
«I am proud, above all, of all my collaborators, from those who package the jackets to those who sponsor the company around the world».
Pisani Maura™ has recenbtly added to the list of collections a special luxury collection called PLATINUM LABEL. This collection features the finest materials worked by skilfull artesans part of the Pisani Maura workshops.
Pisani Maura trademarked several unique colours and combinations famous to this day for their uniqueness and flamboyant final touch.
Pisani Maura™ never produced bags with python’s or in general exotic skins purchased in the tanneries: the Firm directly acquires it from the Indonesian or American holdings of python. The skins are raw, natural, ready to be hand painted by Pisani Maiura's masters in this field, all this happen inside the workshop. The staff, in parallel with the style and the model sections, research the fashion tendencies and inspirations: they create in this way the colors drafts on paper through the use of the pencils. The colors are translated into chemical formulae and, after chosen the best, are cleverly drawn by hand through the use of brushes. To realize and finish a single skin of python of 8/10 meters the time can vary from 24 to the 72 hours. Atmospheric conditions are a very important: if there is a humid environment, the drying times of the colors will be longer. For this reason every single Ghibli product is unique, because it shows the whole passion for the craftsmanship Made in Italy and the love for the luxury.
Construction of a bag in real python
After the first prototype development and improvement, the product starts to be produced. An expert craftsman makes the leather selection, ensuring in this way, a preventive quality control. The person specialized in hand-cutting of exotic skins, cuts the python depending on the needs for each bag and the staff prepares the materials for stitching and finishing each individual component, avoiding waste.A further step in the long process of producing a bag, is its finishing: the product was stitching in part by hand and in part with the use of sewing machines, but it is not complete and is still very different from the final product. Are missing, in fact, all the important details, as buckles, zippers, metal accessories and components. During the bag finishing process it is carefully examined and improved.
MATERIALS
It's not a secret in the fashion world, that the most exclusive fabrics are produced on a complex loom under careful supervision, often with a lot of handwork. The best examples are luxury fabrics we see on the catwalks – haute couture fashion is defined by unique textiles used to create eye-catching looks.
Once any fabric made of rare fibers, such as silk, cashmere, or Egyptian cotton, was considered ‘luxury’. Today, it’s more about the subtleties of design than actual composition. Embroidered lace, sequined tulle, fringed chiffon, appliqued wool, laser-cut silk or cotton – these are just some fabrics that belong to the luxury segment. There are also highly engineered materials that come in a variety of designs and take the whole notion of fabric to an entirely new level of performance. Many of them are suitable for high fashion looks.
First, let’s draw a line between haute couture (or high fashion) and premium luxe fabrics.
The first notion refers to unique fabrics used by Pisani Maura ™ house in their high-end collections. They are either made to order or created by textile factories according to their own designs. Haute couture fabrics are very difficult to produce, since they are woven and finished on centuries-old looms or, on the contrary, with the help of advanced machinery. Many of them are embroidered and decorated by hand, and the décor is exclusive. Think gorgeous brocade, beaded guipure lace, sequined silks of superior quality – these are luxury.
The second notion refers to fabrics made of rare raw materials. Sea Island cotton, vicuna, alpaca, cashmere, as well as all kind of exotic skins for leather goods products – these are expensive, top quality fibers available in limited quantities. Premium fabrics are timeless and do not need help from the fashion industry to stay in demand. A good example is vicuna. It is the rarest fiber in the world, from 9 to 12 microns, and each animal can give no more than 0.5 kg of fleece. It is then woven into one of the softest fabrics known to man, and to get hold of such precious cloth is not easy. Given all that, it becomes clear why a vicuna wool coat costs around $20,000, and a vicuna wool scarf starts from $4,000.
