Why it belongs in ORBIS
Milan sock maker founded in 1927, later relocated to Desenzano del Garda; acquired by the Colombo family's Siam hosiery firm, whose Ambrogio Colombo invented openwork and the smallest baby socks ever made in the 1960s, shifting Gallo from grey basics to bold striped colorwork.
Gallo was founded in Milan in 1927, producing plain blue and grey cotton socks built for durability rather than style, in keeping with the practical menswear of the period. In the late 1930s production moved to Desenzano del Garda, on Lake Garda, where the company's factory remains today. After the Second World War, the Siam hosiery company, run by the Colombo family in Desenzano, acquired the Gallo brand and consolidated production into a single factory. In the 1960s, Ambrogio Colombo drove a significant shift in the brand's direction, inventing openwork sock techniques and producing what the company describes as the smallest baby socks ever made; around the same period the brand's palette moved away from its original grey basics toward the multicolored stripes, contrasts and geometric patterns now associated with it. Gallo continues to knit on both historic and modern machinery, including Bentley looms, using materials such as Egyptian cotton, merino wool, silk and cashmere across men's, women's and children's sock lines.