Luciano Barbera

Luciano Barbera grew out of the Carlo Barbera wool mill in Biella, Italy, which Luciano's father Carlo took full control of in 1949. Luciano Barbera gained early visibility in 1962 when photographer Ugo Mulas shot him for Vogue wearing a suit cut from the family's own fabric; according to brand lore, Louis Boston retailer Murray Pearlstein saw the look during a mill visit and encouraged Luciano to launch his own collection, which he did in 1970. Ownership shifted over the following decades: in 2010 the family sold a controlling stake in the Carlo Barbera mill to the Neapolitan tailoring house Kiton, and by 2014 had also let go of the Luciano Barbera apparel brand itself. The family returned to the label in 2019, repurchasing it and reestablishing it as a family business, with Luciano as part-owner, his daughter Carola Barbera as creative director and managing partner, and his son Lodovico Barbera as global brand ambassador.