Scaglione is the epitome of a real Italian family business: small, creative, and producing high-quality and understated garments that have a mid-century flavour. But the story of how this Bergamo-based knitwear brand came to be has all the trappings of a romantic epic, too.
Renato Scaglione, born in Turin in 1932, had dreams of being an artist. But after a brief period of promise under the famous Felice Casorati, he was forced to join his elder brother, a sewing company representative, in Milan to support the family. This was during Italy’s post-war boom, where families from the countryside flocked to urban areas to profit from industry.
So, young Renato, with little choice, put aside his brushes and paints to become a sewing machine salesman. He travelled throughout various villages near Milan, meanwhile yearning for the artistic future that could have been. Until one day; when – while on the job - his romantic and artistic tendencies were stroked after setting eyes on a girl called Celsa. Both Renato and Celsa shared a passion for art and beauty, and they decided – once they had married - to finally pursue their dreams by establishing a business that had their creativity at its very core. In 1966, the fruits of Renato, and Celsa’s, labour was founded: a company known today throughout Italy as Maglificio Scaglione – one of the premium manufacturers of classic knitwear.
