In July it seemed that the historic Manifattura di Soci would have to close, but today it is working on Gucci bags and shoes

The rebirth of the Casentino cloth is branded Gucci. The Tuscan luxury maison, in fact, has decided to focus on the historic fabric for its new collection of accessories and has ordered the Manifattura di Soci, the only company in the world that still produces it, thirty kilometers of Casentino cloth to be delivered by the end of the year.

A Casentino coat for the king

In all, there are 600 pieces of the traditional fabric that Gucci has chosen, in British green, and with which it will create very special women’s bags and women’s shoes. Thanks to Gucci, therefore, the Casentino cloth will be exhibited in the most exclusive boutiques of the main shopping streets around the world, becoming increasingly known.

Good news for the textile production of Soci, in the municipality of Bibbiena, which a few months ago received another important order. A British company supplying the Royal House of Windsor in fact ordered the pieces in the classic orange color with which to make a coat for King Charles of England.

Casentino cloth: an ancient artisan tradition

Thanks to the rescue of Bellandi, twenty jobs have been safeguarded and with them an ancient artisan production . The Panno del Casentino is in fact a fabric of pure virgin wool that has been produced in this valley since ancient times: even in the fourteenth century the inhabitants of Stia paid taxes in Florence not in money but in woolen cloths.

It is a warm fabric, also resistant to water and weather, characterized by the typical curls that are obtained with the “ratting” of wool, or a special brushing that guarantees thermal insulation.

In the Renaissance it was used to sew the cassocks of the friars of La Verna and Camaldoli, then over the centuries it became an increasingly requested fabric also by the nobles and in‘800 the famous double-breasted coats were born in the two typical colors, orange and green, which made the Casentino cloth known all over the world.

source: www.intoscana.it