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Since 1911, Luigi Bianchi Mantova has established itself as a luxury suit, jacket and formalwear producer.

The company was founded by master tailor Luigi Bianchi in the renaissance city of Mantova and has remained a family-run operation for four generations, making it the oldest continuous men’s clothing company in Italy.

Today, the LUBIAM label continues to be profoundly tied to the principles in which Luigi Bianchi believed at the end of the eighteen hundreds; loyalty to the ancient craftsman format and attention to detail, now combined with the most advanced technology.

Harmonizing the traditions of cutting-edge styles, designs and highly technological machinery, Luigi Bianchi Mantova offers only the best product in its corner of the market. The label continues to offer a “Made to Measure” service that guarantees delivery of a garment of tailor made quality and fine finishing, with production in ten working days plus shipping time.

Historically, Lubiam was the first clothing factory equipped with an assembly line and the Bianchi family has since helped establish their product as synonymous with Italian luxury, quality and elegance. These innovative roots allowed them to be one of the first companies to establish a showroom in Milan, as well as one of the first men’s Italian clothing labels to enter the US market in the late 1960’s. In 2010, Luigi Bianchi Mantova honored its history by re-introducing its clothing collection under the “LUIGI BIANCHI MANTOVA” label.

The fourth generation of Bianchi – the sons of Giuliano, Edgardo, Giovanni, and Gabriele, together with their cousins, Andrea and Laura Benedini – are assuming the role to fuel the LUBIAM company spirit with new collections designed to meet the needs of a younger market.

Luigi Bianchi Mantova has brought history, tradition and knowledge to the present collection and continues to offer styles that combine a classic sense of design with a modern attitude. While approaching their 100th birthday, their presence stays strong in the worldwide market.

HISTORY

The Beginning

It is not possible to tell the story of the LUBIAM label without telling the history of one man, Luigi Bianchi, who in 1898 at only 16 years of age, left his town in the province of Mantova – San Michele in Bosco – to go to Turin to learn the secrets of the tailoring trade.<LUBIAM UN UMOUNA STORIA="test">[Link text]

Bianchi wanted to become a master tailor to dignify the family tradition of his father Paride and his grandfather Giuliano, who were door to door tailor and barbers in the towns around the countryside.

Much time has passed since then, but the courage, commitment and passion, are all still there. These traditions were carried on and developed from the creative inspiration of the founder, Luigi, through the enthusiasm and pragmatism of the sons Edgardo and Giuliano and the grandchildren Giuliano and Luigi . These same feelings were later absorbed and projected into the new century by a team of young people full of drive and dreams: Edgardo, head of company strategy with his father Giuliano; Giovanni, product manager; Gabriele, head of technological research; and their cousins Andrea, sales director for the American market and Laura, designer and architect.

LUBIAM is a company that knows how to renew itself while remaining loyal to its tradition and maintaining strong ties to the region and its culture. The social fabric of Mantova is as much intertwined with the events and the successes of this company as it is of its own history.

Thanks to the contribution of each member of the group and its intense productivity, Lubiam has succeeded, in a short time, in crossing national borders into all of Europe, America, Canada, Asia and Japan.

The Second Decade

In 1911 the project to open its own shop was accomplished. The leading tailor shop of “LUIGHI BIANCHI” – MEN’S CLOTHES AND DRESSES AND SUITS FOR WOMEN, opened at No. 11 Via Pietro Fortunato Calvi in Mantova, whose stock boasted a large assortment of materials of the best national and foreign houses. This was where sophisticated made to measure dresses were soon accompanied by the first examples of pret-à-porter garments.

Thanks to his great passion, Luigi Bianchi thus succeeded in launching a successful company. His name and the quality of his clothes attracted Edward Prince of Wales into the shop to order an entire wardrobe of clothes.

The Twenties

Towards the end of the twenties, the women’s line of clothing was dropped in order to concentrate all energy and attention on the men’s line. The collections of clothes, made in Luigi Bianchi workshops, have always been identified by the deep commitment to wearability and a great ability to satisfy the wide ranging demand.

The Thirties

The company passed from 250 employees in 1933 to 400 in 1936 and became ‘LUIGI BIANCHI INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION.’ The growth was the result of a long process of specialisation and innovation deeply desired by Edgardo the eldest son of Luigi. They aimed at improving the production time while guaranteeing top quality results with the same characteristics as bespoke tailoring.

In 1938 the new plant opened on the outskirts of the city with 500 employees.

In 1939 the LUBIAM label was born, an acronym for LUigi BIAnchi Mantova, to underline the deep ties to his city of origin. Under its new name, the company launched by Luigi and Edgardo Bianchi, began a continuing chain of events and successes among which includes first expanding the Italian label to the United States and then progressively into all the countries in Europe and stretching the world as far as the shores of China and Japan.

The Forties

These years saw a turning point from the past, with a global renewal in the organisation of the work and quality of the product.

At this time, LUBIAM was one of the first brands to open a showroom in the centre of Milan.

The Fifties

In the decade from 1950 to 1960, a revolution occurred in Mantova in the economic productive sector as well as in the whole of Italy. Manufacturing alone created more than 5,000 jobs and the clothing industry was important, both in the ready made clothing, mainly due to LUBIAM, and in the rapid expansion of the production of sweaters and shoes.

LUBIAM made its presence powerfully felt with a loud burst on the national arena appearing first on “Carosello” (national television publicity segment), thanks to the publicity genius of the time, Giulio Giuli.

A strong campaign for LUBIAM started in “Carosello”, based around the slogan “Wearing LUBIAM will make you feel like another” and on the stylised “L” that recalls the lapel of a jacket. The same “L” became the company logo.

The Sixties

Major campaigns were launched, accompanied by billboards, street posters, cinema advertisements, radio publicity and window dressing competitions.

The appearance of the LUBIAM logo on matches and “Minerva” cigarette packets made a great social impact.

In this decade the television campaign ended with a fictional character, Pierino who, in “Carosello”, wanted to turn all the world LUBIAM.

The Seventies and Eighties

Between the end of the seventies and the first half of the eighties, the capture of the foreign market reached its peak. LUBIAM has had a solid presence in the American market since 1974 with its own subsidiary.

However, in Italy the seventies marked the arrival to the company of a new third generation of leaders; Luigi and Giuliano. Giuliano directed his energies to the technical and productive areas whilst Luigi attached his energy to the company’s image with public interests such as the LUBIAM Prize, an initiative to bind the company image to the world of figurative art. Young students from the Italian Fine Arts Academies competed for scholarships for half a million of the old lire. The reaction of the public and media was highly positive and enthusiastic. The LUBIAM Prize continued for eleven years.

In addition, Luigi continued to raise the company’s exposure and image through company sponsored events such as the Giro d’Italia’s tour through Mantova and the World Middle Weight Boxing Championship between Benvenuti and Griffith, thanks to the brilliant public relations advisor Enrico Pirondini.

The Nineties

The Bianchis have always passed on their commitment to Lubiam from father to son. With the arrival of Giuliano the engineer in the seventies, a new internal restoration was undertaken to give the label a renewed life to be continued by future generations.

An additional sign of recovery for LUBIAM was its entry into the world famous “Harrods” of London in addition to its other acquired positions in “Barney’s” in the United States, “N.K.” department store in Stockholm and the many “F.One” department stores in Japan.

LUBIAM is today an international reference label representing Made in Italy among the most prestigious foreign commercial outlets .

The numerous retail and specialty stores demonstrate this with the LUBIAM collections – labels include:

Labels carried in the United States:

Luigi Bianchi Mantova – Clothing Lubiam Studio – Diffusion Line L.B.M.1911 – Sportswear

Labels around the world (Primarily Europe, Russia, Middle East and Far East):

Luigi Bianchi Mantova – Clothing Lubiam Studio – Diffusion Line L.B.M.1911 – Sportswear Lubiam 1911 – Classic Historic Clothing Label Lubiam 1911 Cerimonia – Tuxedos and evening wear. Brando – Sportswear (Not carried in the US due to copyright infringements).

LUBIAM IN LITERATURE

The Rise and Fall of the House of Barney's: A Family Tale of Chutzpah, Glory, and Greed By Joshua Levine

American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis

LUBIAM UN UOMO UNA STORIA by Renzo Dall’Ara – Editoriale Sometti, Mantova 1999

LUBIAM IN THE ART WORLD

Sponsorship is of vital importance in the marketing and promotion of a company’s image.

Specifically, LUBIAM has always aimed at activities of a lasting, cultural nature. The label has always taken responsibility for what it does, choosing projects they can follow through to the end.

This cultural DNA can be seen in the LUBIAM Prize, the restoration projects of Susano, Le Grazie Sanctuary and Palazzo Te, as well as in art collections of great value and splendour such as “La cacciata dell’invitato indegno” [‘The Ousting of the Unworthy Guest’] by Fra Semplice of Verona, and the works of Ferruccio Bolognesi, which are on display in the Lubiam Head Office.

The Lubiam Prize

The Lubiam Prize was created in 1971 and is open to young students in Italian Fine Arts Academies, who can compete for 8 grants, each valued around € 250.

The settings of Palazzo Te, in Mantova, the sumptuous summer villa designed by Giulio Romano for the Gonzaga family, was used as the exhibition hall for the extensive collection of the 229 works included. The head of the very first Prize panel and still President is Aligi Sassu. The organization of the Prize was the work of Enrico Pirondini.

The success of the Awards, acknowledged by the general public and by reviewers alike, encouraged continuation for a further 11 editions, the last being associated with illustrious “godfathers”: Corrado Cagli, the Frenchman Gustave Singier (when the Prize became international, inviting one foreign Academy each year) and the Swiss artist Pietro Salati who rounded off the Palazzo Te venue in 1975.

After this, due to space restrictions, the Prize was moved to the “Little Athens” of Sabbioneta, the fifteenth century city and the home of the court of Vespasiano Gonzaga Colonna. This was the height of the naïf period and the Yugoslavian master Josip Generalic acted as curator. The list of illustrious names continued with Graham Sutherland, Hans Hartung and Edward Pignon. The dimensions of the Prize grew to include continental pieces and was then opened to young artists under the age of 35, chosen by Italian art critics.

1980 was the year of the Turkish-Greek artist Mario Prassinos and young international artists still in Academies.

At the tenth anniversary edition in 1981 Renato Gattuso paid homage to the great Latin poet Virgil, from Mantova, on the two thousandth anniversary of his death.

The last edition of the Prize was organised by Remo Brindisi in 1982. He produced an extremely high quality edition as can be seen by the catalogue, published by Gabriele Mazzotta.

References

AMERICAN PSYCHO - a 1991 novel by Bret Easton Ellis

LUBIAM UN UOMO UNA STORIA by Renzo Dall’Ara – Editoriale Sometti, Mantova 1999

THE RISE AND FALL OF THE HOUSE OF BARNEYS - By Joshua Levine

External links

• example.com