Como: Silk Capital of the World
April 18, 2002
Como, Italy - The Italian city of Como and its sapphire blue lake, located in the hilly regions of northeast Italy, are often described as one of the most beautiful places in Italy if not the world.
But not only is Como a highly appealing tourism area: The region also holds a centuries-old distinction as one of the leading producers of textiles worldwide, principally silk. Ninety-one per cent of the silk produced in Europe comes from Italy and 79% of this amount comes from Como. Annually, Como''''s textile industry produces 3,200 tons of silk-used in clothing, decorator fabrics, scarves, shawls, ties and upholstery.
Como is one of nine provinces in the northern Lombardy region of Italy, an area that for 800 years has been intricately linked with the production of textiles-the oldest Italian industry. Much of Como''''s success in textiles then and now can be attributed to the unique combination of highly concentrated, family-run entrepreneurial businesses, simple organizational models, and informal information sharing of technical know how, market conditions and consumer tastes.
Como''s textile heritage dates back to the Middle Ages when Judaic artisans who learned silk production (sericulture-the farming of silk worms) in China transported this knowledge in their journeys to the Near East. Judaic sericulturists were employed by the Romans, Byzantines and Norman Crusader Roger II to introduce silk production into their economies. As Judaic craftsmen-weavers, dyers, and sericulture specialists-dispersed throughout Italy, their expertise in mulberry tree horticulture and manufacturing silk textiles was transplanted with them. The Jews planted mulberry trees in various communities in Northern Italy to foster and supply textile making with strands of silk hundreds of meters long reeled from cocoons to be woven into fabrics.
It has been said that silkworm breeding in Italy can be traced back to the 10th century (by some legend even as early as 551 BC) and that silk weaving was well underway a century later. By the 13th century silk production in Italy was an apprenticed trade controlled by highly restrictive family-run guilds. Workers who disobeyed, or betrayed the families who employed them were soon beheaded or mutilated in some way, a strong deterrent to innovation and artistic expression. Somehow despite these conditions, the middle 1600s found some 100 plus silk mills in the Como area.
However, by the 18th century as business structures changed, a new renaissance in silk design and manufacturing gave birth in Italy. What started as a handcrafted trade now gave way to the introduction of mechanical equipment.
Como was at the forefront of this revival with innovations in both production and design. It soon became a mecca for the "Made in Italy" tradition of fine silk and has maintained that reputation ever since in the hands of family-run businesses. In the 1850s, Levinstein & Company was an accomplished dye making, silk dyeing and finishing business in Milan, near Como. Hugh Levinstein sought and was granted a series of English patents related to sericulture and dyeing. His family enterprise grew quickly and became a major force in enabling the development of the silk textile industry between Milan and Lake Como.
Other families followed suit, among them Gianni Binda, Enrico Boselli, Enrico Mantero, Seterie Moretti, Celestino Pianezza and Antonio Ratti to name a few.
Celestino Pianezza in the late 19th century was an early innovator in silk fabrication and design, a tradition still fostered to this day by members of his family. Enrico Boselli opened his Como silk weaving mill in 1898 and by the 1930s was among the first Italian silk mills to use artificial fibers (viscose followed by acetate) side by side with pure silk. Today Boselli controls all production steps from yarn processing to dyeing and finishing with sophisticated computerized control systems. Gianni Binda established his business as a weaver in 1945. Today the enterprise, still in ancestral hands, has 250 employees engaged in the full spectrum of textile production from design to manufacture and sales principally serving the U.S., Japan, Germany and France.
Como''s textile industry to this day remains in the hands of family enterprises. In silk processing alone, it consists of some 1,800 factories with an average of 10 workers per factory and sales of 250 million Lira ($113,000) per worker. These small and medium size businesses typically undertake one phase of the production process, such as preparation of fibers for weaving, dyeing, printing and so forth.
The key to bringing the process-and thus the industry - together is the pivotal role played by what''''s referred to as "organizers or agents." These firms organize the relationship chain of specialized small firms to ensure the successful manufacture of the final product.
One of the largest organizers in the Como area is the Ratti silk weaving company, founded in 1945 and now publicly traded on the Milan stock exchange. The firm is still operated by the Ratti family. "We suspend business with manufacturers that fail to meet our cost and quality requirements," says Silvano Bogani of Ratti. "In order to produce the finest articles in the world, it is important for us to work only with companies with state of the art technology and high cost competitiveness."
While silk represented less than 10% of Italy''''s total textile production in the mid-1900s, its significant expansion following World War II has enabled it to become a major worldwide industry player. Much of this growth can be attributed to a highly skilled labor pool and its ability to offer well designed, high quality goods.
Moreover, even though today Italy accounts for only 9% of the total exports of all products to G7 countries, in high-quality fiber textiles exported to this group, Italy accounts for 49%. According to M. Fortis, Montedison, Universita` Cattolica, Como''''s silk district represents more than one fourth (25.9%) of the world export share.
Italy also is the second largest worldwide producer of textile machinery including machines for spinning, weaving, knitting and finishing that are exported to more than 100 countries. Como''''s highly skilled workforce is engaged in this aspect of the textile industry as well.
So while the Como area may be the "weekend Riviera" to Milan''''s elite, its numerous textile and custom fabric manufacturers are the gold standard producers for the world''''s leading fashion purveyors from Christian Dior and Hermes to Trussardi and Longchamp. F&FI
But not only is Como a highly appealing tourism area: The region also holds a centuries-old distinction as one of the leading producers of textiles worldwide, principally silk. Ninety-one per cent of the silk produced in Europe comes from Italy and 79% of this amount comes from Como. Annually, Como''''s textile industry produces 3,200 tons of silk-used in clothing, decorator fabrics, scarves, shawls, ties and upholstery.
Como is one of nine provinces in the northern Lombardy region of Italy, an area that for 800 years has been intricately linked with the production of textiles-the oldest Italian industry. Much of Como''''s success in textiles then and now can be attributed to the unique combination of highly concentrated, family-run entrepreneurial businesses, simple organizational models, and informal information sharing of technical know how, market conditions and consumer tastes.
Como''s textile heritage dates back to the Middle Ages when Judaic artisans who learned silk production (sericulture-the farming of silk worms) in China transported this knowledge in their journeys to the Near East. Judaic sericulturists were employed by the Romans, Byzantines and Norman Crusader Roger II to introduce silk production into their economies. As Judaic craftsmen-weavers, dyers, and sericulture specialists-dispersed throughout Italy, their expertise in mulberry tree horticulture and manufacturing silk textiles was transplanted with them. The Jews planted mulberry trees in various communities in Northern Italy to foster and supply textile making with strands of silk hundreds of meters long reeled from cocoons to be woven into fabrics.
It has been said that silkworm breeding in Italy can be traced back to the 10th century (by some legend even as early as 551 BC) and that silk weaving was well underway a century later. By the 13th century silk production in Italy was an apprenticed trade controlled by highly restrictive family-run guilds. Workers who disobeyed, or betrayed the families who employed them were soon beheaded or mutilated in some way, a strong deterrent to innovation and artistic expression. Somehow despite these conditions, the middle 1600s found some 100 plus silk mills in the Como area.
However, by the 18th century as business structures changed, a new renaissance in silk design and manufacturing gave birth in Italy. What started as a handcrafted trade now gave way to the introduction of mechanical equipment.
Como was at the forefront of this revival with innovations in both production and design. It soon became a mecca for the "Made in Italy" tradition of fine silk and has maintained that reputation ever since in the hands of family-run businesses. In the 1850s, Levinstein & Company was an accomplished dye making, silk dyeing and finishing business in Milan, near Como. Hugh Levinstein sought and was granted a series of English patents related to sericulture and dyeing. His family enterprise grew quickly and became a major force in enabling the development of the silk textile industry between Milan and Lake Como.
Other families followed suit, among them Gianni Binda, Enrico Boselli, Enrico Mantero, Seterie Moretti, Celestino Pianezza and Antonio Ratti to name a few.
Celestino Pianezza in the late 19th century was an early innovator in silk fabrication and design, a tradition still fostered to this day by members of his family. Enrico Boselli opened his Como silk weaving mill in 1898 and by the 1930s was among the first Italian silk mills to use artificial fibers (viscose followed by acetate) side by side with pure silk. Today Boselli controls all production steps from yarn processing to dyeing and finishing with sophisticated computerized control systems. Gianni Binda established his business as a weaver in 1945. Today the enterprise, still in ancestral hands, has 250 employees engaged in the full spectrum of textile production from design to manufacture and sales principally serving the U.S., Japan, Germany and France.
Como''s textile industry to this day remains in the hands of family enterprises. In silk processing alone, it consists of some 1,800 factories with an average of 10 workers per factory and sales of 250 million Lira ($113,000) per worker. These small and medium size businesses typically undertake one phase of the production process, such as preparation of fibers for weaving, dyeing, printing and so forth.
The key to bringing the process-and thus the industry - together is the pivotal role played by what''''s referred to as "organizers or agents." These firms organize the relationship chain of specialized small firms to ensure the successful manufacture of the final product.
One of the largest organizers in the Como area is the Ratti silk weaving company, founded in 1945 and now publicly traded on the Milan stock exchange. The firm is still operated by the Ratti family. "We suspend business with manufacturers that fail to meet our cost and quality requirements," says Silvano Bogani of Ratti. "In order to produce the finest articles in the world, it is important for us to work only with companies with state of the art technology and high cost competitiveness."
While silk represented less than 10% of Italy''''s total textile production in the mid-1900s, its significant expansion following World War II has enabled it to become a major worldwide industry player. Much of this growth can be attributed to a highly skilled labor pool and its ability to offer well designed, high quality goods.
Moreover, even though today Italy accounts for only 9% of the total exports of all products to G7 countries, in high-quality fiber textiles exported to this group, Italy accounts for 49%. According to M. Fortis, Montedison, Universita` Cattolica, Como''''s silk district represents more than one fourth (25.9%) of the world export share.
Italy also is the second largest worldwide producer of textile machinery including machines for spinning, weaving, knitting and finishing that are exported to more than 100 countries. Como''''s highly skilled workforce is engaged in this aspect of the textile industry as well.
So while the Como area may be the "weekend Riviera" to Milan''''s elite, its numerous textile and custom fabric manufacturers are the gold standard producers for the world''''s leading fashion purveyors from Christian Dior and Hermes to Trussardi and Longchamp. F&FI
