'I tend to get up early, around 7am. I always start my day with a cup of coffee. I can drink coffee all day, but I don't let my wife know about it.
I live in the mountains, in a town called Borgosesia, about 20 minutes' flying time from Milan. When I need to be in Milan I just get on my private plane. It's convenient for me because on one side of the mountain is my home and on the other side is my office and factory. We have remained here because the water source is excellent. When you are in the textile business you need good-quality water for dying the wool and generating energy.
My ancestors started the company, Loro Piana, in 1814. My great-great-grandfather was given a 'passport' by the king of Piedmont to trade in wool textiles. He travelled to England and France to sell. When the industrial revolution began [in Italy] in the 1900s, my family was the first to invest in machinery and to set up a factory to produce textiles under our name. When he was just 18, my father took over the company from his uncle, who died in a hunting accident. Thirty years ago, I stepped into the family business with my brother. The family connection is important in Italy. I don't want to say my father expected it of me, but it was definitely a natural choice.
We are one of the biggest textile manufacturers in the world and certainly the biggest purchasers of cashmere. When I was young, I spent summers working with the sales team in Paris and London - that's where I learned to speak French and English. Other factory owners sent their kids to Australia and New Zealand to learn how to sort wool, but I think my father had a lot more insight. We often travelled to Mongolia and Tasmania to buy cashmere, making sales calls in Hong Kong. He was open-minded and everyone, even the best couture houses in Paris such as Christian Dior and Givenchy, bought fabric from him. By 1975, our factory employed 300 people. It was big for our area, but small for the world.
When my brother and I took over in the 70s the world was changing. We knew we not only had to become specialists, we also had to branch out into ready-to-wear. The progression was natural. We started by making cashmere scarfs in different colours to give to our clients. They'd say, 'Hey, Sergio, how about making a blanket for me.' So we did. Then they'd say, 'Hey, Sergio, how about making a sweater for me?' We did that too. The ready-to-wear collection evolved from that. Our family is fascinated by horses, so we made a jacket for riding. We love to sail, so we made a jacket for sailing too. That's why we don't have a designer. My wife and I talk to the design team about what we need as real people, because at the end of the day we are not trying to sell a fantasy or a hot seasonal look; we are the kind of people who wear our clothes.
We've grown by word of mouth. There are a lot of celebrities in Hollywood who wear our jumpers, but I don't need to use them in advertising campaigns. I am also not going to tell everyone that the king of Spain asked me to outfit his entire crew on his yacht. I think it's better not to be too outspoken, but be part of a small circle.