Cerruti 1881
A Biella wool mill since 1881, and the Paris house Nino Cerruti built from it — mill and maker in one name.
Cerruti is two houses in one name: the Lanificio Fratelli Cerruti wool mill, founded in Biella in 1881, and the Paris fashion house Cerruti 1881, opened in 1967 by Nino Cerruti. Rare among clothiers, Cerruti carried its own cloth all the way through to finished garments, defining soft, unlined Italian tailoring before Nino sold the fashion house in 2000 to return to the mill, which still weaves in Biella today.
Biella, 1881. From the loom
to the atelier.
The Lanificio Fratelli Cerruti was founded in Biella in 1881 by Antonio Cerruti and his brothers, in the Piedmontese town long famous for the finest Italian wool. Three generations on, Nino Cerruti (born in Biella, 1930) took the family mill in hand — and, rare among clothiers, carried its cloth the whole way through to finished clothes. His first menswear line, Hitman, was shown in 1957.
In 1967 he opened the fashion house Cerruti 1881 in Paris, dressing a generation in soft, unlined Italian tailoring. He sold the fashion house in 2000 to return to the mill; the Lanificio still weaves in Biella today. Nino Cerruti died in 2022.
What the house is.
- 01The Biella mill Since 1881, a wool mill in Italy’s finest cloth town — supplying its own house and tailors worldwide.
- 02Mill and maker One of the few names that both weaves the cloth and cuts the coat — fibre to finish, like Zegna.
- 03Soft Italian tailoring Nino Cerruti’s unlined, fluid jackets helped define modern Italian menswear.
- 04Hitman, 1957 The first men’s line, and the seedbed of the Cerruti 1881 house that followed in 1967.
“The house that weaves the cloth understands the coat before it is cut.”— Anemoia Vestiaire, on Cerruti
Biella wool, understood at source.
Cerruti is, at root, a mill — so the most useful reading sits in our tailoring and cashmere notes, where the properties that make fine cloth behave are set out in full.
Which Cerruti is
on the label.
Because the name covers both the Biella mill and the Paris fashion house, a Cerruti label can mean either. Lanificio Fratelli Cerruti marks the cloth; Cerruti 1881 marks the garment from the Paris house founded in 1967. Some pieces carry one, some the other — and knowing which you are looking at tells you whether the name refers to who wove it or who cut it.
Why vintage Cerruti
holds.
Cloth of this order was never disposable, and a Cerruti garment carries the mill’s own fibre and finishing. Well-kept pieces show the soft, honest construction that made the house — and they have already lasted.
Buying vintage here is buying proven cloth from a house that wove it.
Cerruti 1881 in the archive.
About Cerruti 1881.
Is Cerruti a mill or a fashion house?
Both — the Lanificio Fratelli Cerruti wool mill was founded in Biella in 1881, and three generations later Nino Cerruti carried that cloth the whole way through to finished clothes, opening the Paris fashion house Cerruti 1881 in 1967. It's one of the few names, like Zegna, that both weaves the cloth and cuts the coat.
Who was Nino Cerruti?
Nino Cerruti was born in Biella in 1930 and took over the family wool mill, showing his first menswear line, Hitman, in 1957. He opened the Cerruti 1881 fashion house in Paris in 1967, sold it in 2000 to return to the mill, and died in 2022. The Lanificio still weaves in Biella today.
What is Cerruti tailoring known for?
Nino Cerruti's soft, unlined, fluid jackets helped define modern Italian menswear, built on cloth from the family's own Biella mill — one of the finest wool towns in Italy.
Is vintage Cerruti worth buying?
Cloth of this order was never disposable, and a Cerruti garment carries the mill's own fibre and finishing rather than fabric sourced elsewhere. Well-kept vintage pieces show the soft, honest construction that made the house, and have already proven they last.