The Event Celebrates the House’s Merino Breeders and Farmers and Awarded a New World Record Bale With a Merino Wool Fiber of Only 10.2 Microns
Loro Piana has shared the results of its 24th and 25th editions of the Loro Piana Record Bale Award, held on February 1st in London. Every year, the Loro Piana Record Bale Award, created in 1997, rewards two farms, one in Australia and one in New Zealand, that successfully produced the finest bale of Merino wool. This challenges farmers to continuously strive for excellence and celebrates the dedication and craft of these skilled workers.
The award ceremony unveiled a new World Record Bale achieved by the Australian farm Pyrenees Park with a Merino wool fibre of only 10.2 microns, surpassing the 2013 record of 10.3 microns. The ceremony was hosted by Damien Bertrand, CEO of Loro Piana, and Pier Luigi Loro Piana, Deputy Chairman of the Maison, pioneer, and supporter of the continuous quest for the finest Merino wool fiber.
Loro Piana also hosted a dinner in London to coincide with the awards ceremony, which included notable attendees like Andrew Garfield, Claire Foy, Gstaad Guy, Richard E. Grant, and Stephen Jones.
This wool is not just a gift of nature, it is the result of the hard work of exceptional people combined with their passion and true belief in innovation, in the power to change things and improve them day after day. This enables us to create unique Masterpieces for the most discerning connoisseurs.”
– Damien Bertrand
The Australian 2023 Loro Piana World Record Bale Award goes to the Pyrenees Park farm with Pamela, Robert, and Bradley Sandlant who achieved a fiber of only 10.2 microns, surpassing the 2013 record of 10.3 microns. A micron is a unit of measurement of the fineness of a fiber equivalent to one thousandth of a millimeter. For comparison, a human hair measures 80 microns. This extraordinary result bears witness to the breeders’ unceasing dedication to the production of an even finer and better-performing wool:
You simply cannot produce a World Record Bale without passion, focus, and dedication! Such a wonderful reward for our Pyrenees Park team!”
– Bradley Sandlant
This ever-finer wool can only be obtained from the shearing of a selection of unique Merino sheep raised by generations of expert breeders. A path that leaves nothing to chance, a World Record has not been achieved for 10 years. The New Zealand 2023 Loro Piana Record Bale Award goes to Barrie and Yvonne Payne of Visuela Farm with a 10.7 microns wool bale.
The 2022 Loro Piana Record Bale Award goes to the same two farms: Pyrenees Park with a 10.7 microns Merino wool bale, and Visuela Farm with a 11.0 microns Merino wool bale.
The Loro Piana Record Bale Award has been the catalyst required for us to grow the finest, and the best quality, natural fibre produced in the world.”
– Yvonne and Barrie Payne from Visuela Farm
The World Record Bale is preciously stored in a glass container at the Loro Piana Quarona factory in Piedmont, until the record is beaten. This year is an exciting development, as it marks the first time a world record has been achieved since 2013. This means that the bale of the previous record of 10.3 microns can be now put in production. The fabrics and unique pieces produced from this bale are reserved for a selection of the house’s exceptional clients comprising the most discerning connoisseurs.
Timeless and precious, unique and exclusive, the exceptional Record Bale garments represent true excellence in the production of Merino wool. They are distinguished with a special label that documents their traceability, from the year the animal was shorn, to its origin, to the fiber’s micron. The Loro Piana Record Bale Award shows the Maison’s dedication to sourcing the world’s finest wool and the commitment to exceptional quality, the quintessence of luxury.
