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If your idea of being in nature is walking up Billionaires’ Row on a rainy day, then you’re already well acquainted with Loro Piana’s mastery of the elements. The Italian clothing brand that dresses world-beating titans, both real (Larry Gagosian) and fictional (Kendall Roy), has long specialized in making achingly soft wool outerwear that’s as resistant to the elements as any Gore-Tex rain slicker, thanks to its innovative Storm System line. And now, the 100-year-old company is bringing its vision of discreet, functional luxury a little further afield.
More specifically, Loro Piana is going “into the wild.” That’s the name of a new capsule of rarefied gorpcore—taken here into the great outdoors of LA’s Topanga Canyon by Colman Domingo—that marks the brand’s first foray into true performance hiking gear.
All clothing (throughout), by Loro Piana. All jewelry (throughout), his own. Accessories by Loro Piana.
Wild is, of course, not a word normally associated with Loro Piana, which is famous for the high art of the subtle flex. Loro Piana garments are crafted from the world’s softest wools—literally; Loro Piana hosts an annual competition to find the finest fibers on the planet. The whole idea is to flatter the senses while flying under the radar. Or to stay dry in a beautiful vicuña topcoat secretly protected by a Storm System membrane. (The cashmere cap Kendall wore throughout Succession? Storm System.)
Into the Wild, on the other hand, is one of the more fashion-forward chapters in Loro’s long history. There’s an asymmetrical-zip jacket that wouldn’t look out of place on the streets of Shinjuku and fuzzy high-neck sweaters that would cut a striking silhouette on the trails of Mount Rokkō. And in a first for Loro Piana, the capsule includes a collaboration: a couple of hiking boots made with Roa that unites the Italian footwear label’s stylish shapes with Loro’s earth-toned fabrics.
Though designed with urban functionality in mind, Into the Wild is made for the mountains and engineered to Loro Piana’s extreme standards. When it makes a cashmere sweater, the result has to be as soft as technologically possible. When it makes a rain jacket, the approach is no different. It turns out the key component of an insanely functional anorak is a futuristic material known as graphene, an invention that won the scientists behind it the Nobel Prize in 2010 for its extraordinary conductivity. Loro Piana has been experimenting with how to use graphene for six years, and says that by bonding it with the label’s premium wool fabric it has unlocked unparalleled temperature regulation. Meaning: You want this jacket on a cold, blustery hike. Just ask the expert alpinists in the Dolomites and Alps who had the enviable job of testing Into the Wild throughout the collection’s lengthy development process.
But the most impressive piece in Loro Piana’s gorp lineup might be a cashmere zip-up sweater. With a dramatic high collar and colorful marled knit, it hints at an exciting, not-so-quiet direction for Loro Piana as the company enters its second century. And the coolest part? Though it feels as pillowy as any Loro Piana sweater, it is also—of course—engineered to withstand rainstorms.
Samuel Hine is GQ’s fashion writer.
A version of this story originally appeared in the Summer 2024 issue of GQ with the title “Loro Piana Goes Camping”
PRODUCTION CREDITS:
Photographs by Damien Maloney
Styled by Jake Sammis
Barbering by Jacki Brown
Skin by Hee Soo Kwon using La Mer’s The Moisturizing Fresh Crème
Tailoring by Yelena Travkina
Produced by John Morrow
Originally Appeared on GQ
