Italian label MP Massimo Piombo changes name to Carlo Piombo

With the Fall/Winter 2024-25 collection, Italian designer Massimo Piombo is handing over the reins of the MP Massimo Piombo label he founded in the early 90s to his son Carlo, who joined the company 12 years ago. The label will now be known as Carlo Piombo. As Carlo told FashionNetwork.com, the business is “a real family passion.”

“My father founded MP Massimo Piombo after discovering, on a trip to the northernmost regions of Scotland, fabrics that were still handmade on wooden looms. The fabrics were utilised by the most prestigious London tailors, but weren’t yet known on the continent,” said Carlo, who oversees style at his family’s “jewel.” “[My father] decided to preserve these fabrics’ unique features by manufacturing limited-edition tailoring collections in Italy, featuring total looks for men and women. They are akin to capsule collections consisting of original, timeless garments, jointly produced with our manufacturing partners using fabrics for most of which we have a worldwide exclusive,” he added.
 
Thirty years on, the label has changed its name, but its philosophy remains the same. The Carlo Piombo Fall/Winter 2024-25 collection includes some 20 men’s and 20 women’s looks, made with Italian fabrics, Mongolian cashmere, baby alpaca wool from the Peruvian Andes, and pure new wool from England and Scotland. The collection’s tailored items can be fully personalised, with customers able to choose the fabrics, lining and buttons.
 

“Ours is a select range for a niche market, available at some 100 stores in Central Europe – notably Austria, where we also feature exclusive projects with the Dantendorfer department store chain – Japan, South Korea, the USA and Canada. All markets where quality products are greatly appreciated,” said Carlo Piombo. “In Italy, we have been focusing for some years on private event sales, which we introduced as a chance experiment during the pandemic. From a three-day session with some friends, they have become a real event lasting a month and a half, with aficionados of the label flocking to Milan from all over Italy.”

The Carlo Piombo event sale for the Fall/Winter 2024-25 is scheduled at via Borgonuovo 1 in Milan from November 8 to December 23, at a venue the label has been using for some years for this occasion.
 

“By cutting out the commercial middleman, we are able to offer our most loyal customers a 50% discount on list prices,” said Carlo. “We’re aiming for an increasingly direct relationship with our customers and partners, because this enables us to tell the unique story behind each of our garments. For our retailers outside Italy, we instead stage one-off events lasting three or four days, during which we meet personally with customers, a highly appreciated initiative,” concluded Carlo.