Italian Job: Alberto Candiani Sustaining His Family’s Legacy
It takes the dedication of a close-knit family, like the Candianis, to uphold the quality, craftsmanship and innovation associated with “Made in Italy” denim manufacturing for over 78 years. Founded in 1938 by Luigi Candiani, the Italian weaving mill has extended its expertise from weaving workwear fabrics to setting premium denim standards to leading the industry in more sustainable practices.
Today, the company is led by Luigi’s great-grandson, the charismatic and denim-obsessed Alberto Candiani. Alberto—a former DJ and a product of his generation—has applied his thirst for innovation and his concern for the environment to the family business, making it the “greenest textile company in the blue world.”
Recently, the mill invested in a new R&D facility in its second home, Los Angeles, Calif. Carved In Blue caught up with Alberto, who shared his views on sustainability, copycats and why he believes the denim industry has been so accepting of TENCEL®.
Carved In Blue: What do you say to people who think sustainability is a trend?
Alberto: That it is 2016 and we need to act responsibly. Take the car industry—can you imagine a new car with a new engine which is polluting more than its previous edition, performing less and consuming more?
Carved In Blue: What was the turning point, or “aha” moment, that led the mill to invest in more sustainable practices and technology?
Alberto: There wasn’t a specific “aha” moment. We simply realized that the way we have always been working was definitely the most sustainable in the denim world and we thought that the time has come to tell our customers. Candiani is located in Italy and we’re under the European environmental regulation—the strictest in the world. Not only that, the facility is physically located in a national reserve, Parco Del Ticino, where these rules get even stricter.
Too many mills are hiding their crap behind a green leaf. We never used our sustainable philosophy as a marketing tool, but we have finally realized that most of our innovation is based on making newer, cleaner and better products which look and perform better than the previous ones.
Carved In Blue: What’s your elevator pitch on why mills should invest in sustainable technology?
Alberto: As I’ve said, a better product needs to be aesthetically nicer, evolved in terms of performance and added values, but at the same time it needs to be cleaner. New technologies are there to make this happen. Think about our nitrogen dyes or the new ozone finishing. Both are very innovative technologies and allow us to create a different product, not just greener.
Carved In Blue: What is the biggest roadblock from more denim mills integrating more sustainable practices?
Alberto: If you think of denim as a simple commodity which needs to be sourced at its cheapest, well, welcome to the 1900s again. Most of the denim mills still operate in the previous century because too many denim brands are just looking at their margins. They put so much pressure on the sourcing that it causes insufficient financial resources to invest in new technology.
It’s also true that many textile companies simply do not give a f***.
Carved In Blue: If a mill could change just one aspect of their production to make it cleaner, what should it be?
Alberto: Indigo dyeing and the related water waste.
Carved In Blue: What percent of your business is done in the U.S.?
Alberto: 35 percent for many years now.
Carved In Blue: What are some notable ways Candiani’s business in the U.S. differs from its business in Europe?
Alberto: American brands are more receptive in terms of innovation. When we come up with a new concept they want to try it right away. I believe it is a little harder to work with U.S. designers because when it comes to denim they are generally less [of an] expert than the Europeans, but this “less experience” make them come up with very fresh ideas. Also, looking at the fabrics we supply to the U.S. brands, I can tell the taste is very much different, but this is more about the consumer.
Carved In Blue: What do you hope to achieve at the new Los Angeles R&D center?
Alberto: We want to create excitement about custom developments on our denim, proving we can make it clean in L.A. as well. We want to bring this to a higher level… Our workshops and R&D session will allow our customers to develop exactly what they want, researching deep in the fabric and its own washing versatility.
This is going to preserve each customer’s identity and it is our job to create differentiation especially in L.A., where nobody wants to look like the other in a time being where everybody complains about everything looking exactly the same.
Carved In Blue: In what ways does L.A. and its denim culture influence Candiani’s product?
Alberto: Being such an important slice of our business, L.A. certainly influences our product in every collection we develop, but I believe our fabrics have influenced L.A. more. I am saying this because most of the premium brands born in the late 90’s and early 2000’s started their business using our fabrics. In terms of inspiration we, have very positive give and take relationship with L.A.
Carved In Blue: What was your first impression of TENCEL® in denim?
Alberto: I always liked the idea of mixing different fibers to achieve a different look and feel. TENCEL® was the first fiber we adopted and we now have over ten different fabrics in the line with TENCEL® and cotton composition.
Carved In Blue: How has TENCEL® impacted Candiani’s business?
Alberto: Certainly in a good way. Most of our “very premium” fabrics are made with TENCEL® and cotton, the touch is fantastic and the look great, exactly what women want, I guess. Our blend went together really well with higher elasticity standards.
Carved In Blue: What percent of product produced by Candiani uses TENCEL®?
Alberto: It is probably only 10 percent, but [it is] definitely growing.
Carved In Blue: In general, why do you think the denim industry has been so accepting of TENCEL®?
Alberto: As I said, the touch makes the biggest difference. In our case, I believe we also achieved special colors and very authentic ring characters blending cotton and TENCEL® together. It’s also true that Lenzing did a great marketing job and brought up the sustainable side of it too.
Carved In Blue: When does a jean stop being a jean?
Alberto: Great question. When it doesn’t have any character. A garment made with a black 5×1 satin with 70 percent elasticity with Lenzing Modal®, TENCEL® and nylon is more of a jeans to me if, despite all the additional features, it still has a strong character rather than a garment made with a flat-looking, open-end 3×1 fabric.
Carved In Blue: What is your biggest pet peeve about the denim industry?
Alberto: When they copy my fabrics and my concepts. They rebrand them, do shit-loads of marketing, and two seasons later, they steal my business by being 20 cents cheaper.
Carved In Blue: Who do you admire the most in the denim industry?
Alberto: Pierre Morisset, a true maestro when it comes to inspiration.
Carved In Blue: Which item of denim have you had the longest?
Alberto: A Candiani sample jeans since 1996.
Carved In Blue: What was the last pair of jeans you purchased?
Alberto: A pair of Matias at America Rag.
Carved In Blue: Light or dark wash?
Alberto: Dark
Carved In Blue: What does “carved in blue” mean to you?
Alberto: It means a lot to me, my family houses are literally inside the factory and as a kid the facility was my playground. As an adult, it still is.