Company

Since 1940, a family, the same values

Between 1942 and 1945 Mr. Luciano met Miss. Eda in Florence during his military service. At this time he started promoting the fabrics of Biella in Tuscany. From 1952 to 1963 Mr. Luciano and Mrs Eda had 5 children. Paolo, the forth was born in 1958, while Monica, the fifth, was born in 1963.

Lanificio Subalpino

From 40s to 80s Mr Luciano maintained his trade specialized in fabrics mainly from the Biella area with MANIFATTURA L. ZANONE but, in 1975, he also founded his own small production of fabrics calling the new company LANIFICIO SUBALPINO.

Collaborations

At the beginning of 80s Mr Luciano became partner in another Biella’s company producing knitted garments called DELLA ROVERE and closed his first activity with Manifattura L.Zanone. In the meantime his first son Alberto started to work in the design department of Della Rovere brand and just a few years later Paolo, hhis third son, reached his father at the direction of Lanificio Subalpino, just after accomplishing his university degree.

The birth of the new brand

In 1986 after Mr Luciano’s death, his first son Alberto left Della Rovere and founded a new brand called Zanone, specialized in high fashion knitwear, taking his youngest sister Monica with him. Paolo remained at the direction of Lanificio Subalpino.

Lanificio Fratelli Zanone

For few years Subalpino and Zanone had been two branches of the same company: LANIFICIO FRATELLI ZANONE. But at the beginning of 90s the two brands took different directions and planned different strategies: while Zanone opened its main office in Milan, Subalpino, connected to the Biella territory, just moved to another factory in the Biella area, buying a small spinning mill that was going to close (1992).

The owners

In 1996 Subalpino and Zanone divided. Monica arrived at Subalpino to help Paolo in the product research and styling. In the same year also her husband Nicolò Zumaglini joined them sharing a part of the company.

New goals

In 2019, the Zanone and Zumaglini families finalized a partnership with two of its main contractors (Orditura and Tessitura Rosa) with the aim of both achieving production and technological growth and starting a progressive transfer of ownership.
Orditura and Tessitura Rosa are two family-run companies that have been active in the world of third-party textile manufacturing for over 60 years and have been able to evolve and overcome all the crises of recent years thanks to continuous investment in technology, quality and staff training. This has allowed them to always be a point of reference for all stakeholders in the Biella district and beyond.

A new era

It is precisely the affinity of ideas and industrial vision that has allowed the birth of the new group of companies which sees its point of maximum expression in the Lanificio Subalpino mill. The definitive transfer of ownership took place in 2021 and since then the new ownership has invested huge resources in technological innovation and product research and development without ever distorting the subalpine style that has always distinguished it. The Subalpino philosophy can be summed up in these four simple words: SIMPLICITY, MODERNITY, ORIGINALITY and SUSTAINABILITY.