Memory and Future: textile archives of the Prato district
The archive represents the place of memory of a textile company. A space that holds a material heritage of inestimable value, including fabrics, yarns, designs, projects, and documents.
The Prato district is an expression of the textile vocation of its territory. For the industries of this area, archives represent the foundation on which manufacturing know-how is built. Besides being a primary resource to support the research and development of new collections, in recent years archives have become more and more a strategic tool for the transmission of companies’ values and culture. Values such as tradition, quality and traceability of materials, management transparency and sustainability.
The Municipality of Prato, in collaboration with Prato Textile District and with the support of Prato Textile Museum, carries on research projects about textile archives. This activity led to a first survey about the archives existing in the local area that are published at this page. The project is in progress.
Bellandi
Textile manufacture since 1961
The company, which also produces accessories, has been storing fabrics and garments in one since the 1990s in a space of more than 200 square meters. The archive is largely digitized and is employed not only by the company’s technicians for reference but also by visiting designers and students.
Beste
Textile manufacturer since 1992
The company’s memory is preserved in the Tessuteka, a visually designed space that gives access to 30 years of manufacturing history. The archive collects more than 13,000 fabrics. In 2021, with the birth of the Apparel Division, the Beste Hub Garment Archive, with over 3,000 prototypes, was added.
Furpile Idea
Manufacture of ecofriendly furs and fleece since 1996
From fifty years of experience in knitting (including faux fur, boiled wools, needlework), the company’s archive comes to life. A major project is underway to enhance and upgrade dedicated spaces, with the aim of opening the archive to consultation.
Lanificio Bisentino
Textile manufacture since 1984
Company whose activity dates back to 1944 with the production of military supplies. Today it is run by the third generation, which has directed research toward sustainability and opened to the production of accessories such as scarves. The archive collects products made over the past four decades of operation.
Lanificio Faliero Sarti
Textile Manufacture since 1949
The historical archive with about 38,000 samples accurately documents the transformations of fashion since the 1950s through the company’s prestigious collaborations with early haute couture ateliers and ready-to-wear brands of made in Italy.
Lanificio Luigi Ricceri
Textile manufacture since 1927
The archive bears witness to the production transformations of one of the oldest companies active in the Prato area. More than 100,000 fabrics, preserved since 1980, are digitized and displayed in a dedicated industrial location for use by technicians, stylists, and designers.
Marini Industrie
Textile manufacture since 1945
The company archive preserves over 30,000 samples since 1960, exhibited in a space dedicated to consultation and open to designers and fashion students.
Lanificio Nova Fides
Textile manufacture since 1964
The Nova Fides archive collects more than 60 years of textile history. The materials are available, including in digital form, to clients, students, start-ups, and emerging designers. It also houses the Loom Arcade, with looms dedicated exclusively to developments for brands, and the School of Weaving academy.
Picchi
Textile manufacture since 1946
A historical archive, equipped with an unprecedented reference system, documents the company’s development since 1969. A space for creative work, employed by technicians and at the same time a place for research open to the public.
Texmoda Tessuti
Textile manufacture since 1999
A modern archive space presents more than 40,000 samples since the 1970s. In addition to the dedicated location, the archive is fully digitized and made accessible not only to clients but also to designers and students for creative inspiration.
Leathertex
Textile manufacture since 1971
Among the pioneering companies in research in alternative production sectors to wool, the company immediately embarked on the road of experimentation in coated, coagulated, and resin-coated fabrics up to hi-tech materials. The archives document these innovations with sample books and designs since 1974.
Lineaesse tessuti
Textile manufacture since 1976
A protagonist of the production transformations affecting the district since the 1970s, the company was founded as an innovation laboratory making coated, laminated, and flocked fabrics. The archive traces the last 30 years of this sector, which today is strategic for its many applications.
Manteco
Textile manufacture since 1943
Housed in a fully restored former spinning mill, the Manteco Archive is the heart of research for our creative team, as well as for brand partners and all other stakeholders. With over 100,000 fabrics, thousands of colours and patterns, this extraordinary space is open for education, networking and special events.
