For Loro Piana, the quest for supreme comfort is a philosophy, an objective, a passion. Enter, The Gift of Kings – a special kind of wool like no other, with a story both magnificent and enchanting.
The first Merino sheep were introduced to Spain in the eighth century, and soon became the property of royalty: exporting them was a crime punishable by death. In the eighteenth century, the King of Spain wanted to give a lavish gift to the Elector of Saxony and the royal families of France, Britain and Holland. He bestowed upon them the wool of the Merino sheep, finer and lighter than any they’d seen before. A gift worthy of a king – and so the name was born.
Once export laws were lifted, flocks of the breed were developed in Australia and New Zealand, where conditions were perfect for the sheep to flourish. 300 hundred years later, there are 75 million sheep in Australia, and 32 million sheep in New Zealand – but only a few thousand of these produce the supremely soft, feather-light, extraordinarily fine wool known as the Gift of Kings.
Loro Piana has spent decades building relationships with a small number of farming families to help foster the breeding of these exceptional Merino sheep. Encouraging their investments, work and research so that the passion for raising Merino sheep can be passed down from generation to generation – and the Gift of Kings can be promoted, preserved and protected.
Measuring only 12 microns (one thousandth of a millimetre), the Gift of Kings is finer than cashmere, and only available in very limited quantities – just 2000 kilos a year are produced, crafted into a limited series of outerwear, sweaters and scarves. Creating perfectly crease-resistant fabric with a fluid fall, the Gift of Kings fits just like second skin, even adjusting to changes in your body temperature. Timelessly elegant and of unfailing quality, every piece respects the ancient raw material and the labour-intensive processes that go into producing the finest wool in the world.