Harry’s Guide to Gran Sasso

Comparing the quality-cost relationship of Gran Sasso’s industry-leading knitwear with any other brand is difficult. In the words of Matthew Laird, Gran Sasso’s Canadian Brand Manager, Gran Sasso’s knits “exist in a no-man's-land in terms of value — there’s nothing like it for the price.”

How so? Industry-leading production techniques, world-class fabrics and materials (spun in-house), and an understated design ethos — attributes typically exclusive to high-end luxury labels — are somehow made available at considerably lower price points.

Styled, made, and priced for everyone, Gran Sasso’s knitwear embodies timeless elegance. “You can be 20 or you can be 80 and the product looks great on anyone,” says Laird.

Each Gran Sasso collection is based around the same breakdown of items: roughly 80 percent are timelessly styled while the remainder are focused on fashion-forward experimentation.

Whether through fabric innovation, contemporary silhouettes, high-fashion styling details, or other, Gran Sasso is committed to building off its rich heritage to adapt its products for modern lifestyles.

That being said, a few particular items are perennial favourites, such as the full-zip cardigan full-zip cardigan, knit sport jacket, cashmere-blend crewneck, quarter-zip mock neck, and more. In the warmer months, linen-blend polos, organic cotton cardigans, and supple linen-cotton woven T-shirts comprise the core of the collection. Fabric colourways are almost always kept to neutral basics, inspired by nature for maximum versatility and wearability.

Located just ten minutes away from the foot of the Gran Sasso mountain range, the brand’s ultra-modern, high-tech production facility is truly a sight to behold.

Designed by famed Italian architect Guido Canali, Gran Sasso’s state-of-the-art, 100,000 sq ft factory is a fully green facility powered by solar energy. In recognition of his efforts, Canali won the award of Honourable Mention at the 2009 Milan Triennal Prize "Medaglia d'Oro all'Architettura" (Golden Medal for Architecture).

Operating non-stop, day and night, the factory oversees Gran Sasso's entire production from start to finish, including the cutting and sewing of each garment.

Everything from zippers to buttons to special fabric finishes gets made in the facility. Most impressive are the Shima Seiki sewing machines — considered the global gold standard for knitwear production — which run 24 hours per day by staff that work in shifts to keep production flowing.

There are approximately 400 workers employed by the Gran Sasso factory, almost all of which are from the local area.

“There’s a great atmosphere among the employees — pretty much everyone in the adjacent town works in the factory,” says Laird. The factory is so close to the Gran Sasso mountains that employees have been known to go skiing during their lunch breaks. Now that’s work-life balance!

And to even further underscore the quality of life and beauty of its natural surroundings, the factory is also surrounded by a forest of olive trees, most of which are 80-100 years old. Back indoors, the factory’s pristine appearance and sanitation standards are also of immaculate quality. "It's so clean in there, you could practically eat off the floor," says Laird. “If you wanted to.”

You could be forgiven for assuming that wool and cashmere fibres that make up most sweaters and knitwear are ultimately quite similar, though that would be severely underestimating the technological innovation Gran Sasso imparts into its products.

From choice yarns to specialty spins to mind-boggling fabric finishes and applications, Gran Sasso takes humble wool and transforms it into something extraordinary.

Some of the most notable fabric programs include:

• Rain Wool: Fully water repellant and machine washable thanks to a Teflon coating on the yarn. Typically found in Gran Sasso’s athleisure range.

• Cash-Wool: A 100% Merino wool with a special cashmere-like hand-feel.

• Australian Super Geelong Wool: Made of yarn from the first cut of the sheep, which is loftier and breathes better than subsequent coats from the same sheep, designed for incredible next-to-skin softness.

• Air Wool: Found in the new Double-Breasted Shawl Cardigan (a global exclusive to Harry Rosen), Air Wool holds microscopic air bubbles between the fibers, making it simultaneously warm and light, so soft that it “feels like air”.

• Alcantara: A special synthetic fabric — the same that’s used on Ferrari steering wheels — with a suede-like texture that is also weather resistant and machine washable.

When it comes to cashmere, only the finest will do for Gran Sasso, who source their cashmere fibres from Mongolia — considered among the world’s finest — and milled in Scotland, an epicentre for top-quality wool fabric mills.