The fineness of the fabric

A sensation of enchanting lightness: Piumino Feeling is made with unique and subtle single threads of 100/1 and 120/1. To enable the production processes to not interrupt, in order to avoid defects, weaving looms with cutting-edge technology are required, together with a highly skilled staff able to handle and use these machineries. Albini’s textile know-how allows these unique fabrics to be produced with great craftsmanship.

Elegant and sophisticated, even when somewhat rustic, linen has gone through the times yet remains current, with colour tones that make it more classic or more sporty according to fashion trends.

Also beautiful in the colours: from the natural sand of unspoilt beaches, to the hot spices, to brighter, brilliant and eccentric tones. Extremely interesting is the use of délavé yarns that combine the natural vivacity of colour, that changes over time and blends, taking unusual and surprising gradations.

The proposal of linen is also enriched in the composition, makes more precious and gives character to fabrics when mixed with cotton. Fresh plays on seersucker, creative prints, and unusual contaminations with mouliné, bouclé and chenille that enhance the qualities of individual fabrics, sometimes even with plays on structures. There are also numerous enhancements: from finishes that give a dry consistency, a researched rustic look, to those softer and more fluid, finally to the 100% linen flannels that can make this also a winter fibre.

They allow the creation of comfortable shirts that are perfect for different occasions: from classic to office to the more fashion for the evening. Colours, sophisticated design, printing applications, and the creation of structures create an ever-sought-after style. Albini also offers exclusive stretch silk fabrics for sophisticated and elegant comfort.

Albini does not accept compromises on white tones, the most difficult colour to achieve, making an extremely particular finishing on white stretch fabrics: a double treatment that makes the initial white even brighter and keeps it shiny even after numerous washings.

The prints of Albini have the characteristic of being applied on beautiful fabrics, surprising by their strong visual impact and the level of colour definition and designs. The versatility and multiplicity of available quality bases, from lightweight and summer fabrics such as linen to winter weight ones such as flannel, make it possible to obtain new and different results.

Albini’s prints are made with different methods, each of which allows for a particular result. The traditional print represents the utmost expression of luxury and craftsmanship. The colour is printed on the fabric through engraved metal rolls that allow the creation of micro designs with great attention to detail.

The modern digital printing is, on the other hand, suitable for large and elaborate designs, particularly those most creative and colourful. There are other printing methods, such as the corrosion method, which allows you to discolour a dark fabric at specific points to create a design, or flocking, for obtaining velvet effect prints.

The prints are also applied on precious yarn dyed fabrics that add graphic elements, such as stripes or checks, for a unique and harmonious visual effect.

Each structure allows the fabric to be brought to life, animating it and creating unexpected designs through clever movements of the loom. It is possible to realise the effects with all of the materials and mixes, creating collections with original and creative touches.

The intricacies of structures and designs between weave and warp and the use of the finest raw materials, such as Egyptian cotton Giza 87 and Californian cotton Supima Corcoran, make Albini’s structured fabrics unique in their genre.

The knowledgeable combination of structure, colour, design and sometimes the addition of special yarns creates extraordinary plays of three-dimensionality and movement and makes every fabric amazing.
Thanks to precious and finest yarns and a unique textile expertise, Albini is also able to create elegant fabrics with minimal micro-structures.

To create a more classic or more casual fabric, the flannels of Albini are worked with designs ranging from the plains, passing by stripes, checks, Prince of Wales, gingham and houndstooth checks, to the insertion also of special yarns.

Albini’s excellence is the flannel made of mélange yarns, obtained from an intimate blend of flakes of Giza 87 cotton, in natural and dyed which are cleverly mixed before spinning. The combination of mélange and sophisticated colours creates flannels with a contemporary taste.

The finishing, the result of the combination of textile tradition and avant-garde technology, is what makes flannels really special. The brushing or emerising creates a superficial hairiness that keeps the air in contact with the fabric making it feel warm and soft like wool. For this reason flannels are perfect for wearing in winter, while maintaining the breathability and naturalness of cotton.

Albini’s exclusivity is the use of this finishing on 100% linen fabrics, which manages to make this also a winter fibre by giving it a warm and soft handle.

The Finishing

Brushing
Brushing is used to lift the surface fibres of a fabric to make it soft. It is carried out with machines equipped with metal tips that rotate to brush the fabric by pulling out the hair. By varying the speed of rotation, the fineness and depth of the metal teeth, it is possible to obtain superficial or deep brushing effects. The result is a warm, soft handle fabric.

Emerising
By sanding or emerising the surface of a finishing fabric, the effect of “peach-skin” is obtained, which gives a velvety appearance to the surface.
The difference between the two processes lies in the technical result: the brushing process typically produces a hairiness greater than that of emerising.

Creativity, research and experimentation allow Albini to produce lightweight fabrics which are fresh and pleasing to the touch.

The voiles are light-weight fabrics ideal for summer shirts. Made with great craftsmanship and state-of-the-art techniques with tightly twisted yarns with a crépe-like aspect, the voiles have a dry, crisp hand-feel.

The muslins are made with very fine yarns, such as the 100/1, and represent an idea of sophisticated delicacy. The precious muslins are characterised by lightness, fluidity and plays of transparency obtained thanks to an open, non-compact construction.

I Cotoni di Albini

ICA – I Cotoni di Albini – is the Albini Group company wholly dedicated to yarns. It conducts continuous research and development activities, achieving outstanding results such as the weaving of the finest yarn in the world (yarn count 330/4). From raw material to yarn, every stage of the production is strictly controlled and tested by a technical laboratory equipped with the most sophisticated instrumentation.
Experimentation and research combined with unparalleled spinning and weaving expertise enable us to create fabrics with innovative blends and special yarns.

Ideas, experimentation and high quality raw materials combine with unparalleled spinning and weaving expertise to enable Albini Group to create beautiful fabrics with special and unique yarns, such as mélange, mouline, bouclé, chenille, neppy and printed yarns.

Chenille is used to reinterpret classic and formal fabrics such as poplin, adding three-dimensionality and that extra detail that embellishes the garment.

Mouliné, obtained by twisting two threads of different colours together, gives light and movement to fabrics of the most contemporary and fashion taste, while the neppy yarn, thanks to its uneven appearance, confronts the leisure world for a sport shirt of great importance.

Mélange yarn is made by mixing, before spinning, raw cotton flakes with dyed cotton flakes. The yarn produced by this intimate blend has different intensity of colour and chiaroscuro, which will be translated into a soft-coloured fabric.

The bouclé yarn, with its characteristic “rings”, creates special and sophisticated details, while the printed yarn is a multicoloured thread used to create original and unexpected designs.

In the step of finishing a low-temperature treatment modifies the structure of the fibres, giving the fabric a natural elasticity without the use of synthetic components.

The result is a durable and breathable fabric with bright colours, with a soft hand feel that is pleasant to wear, which remains so after numerous washings.

Natural Comfort is a fabric that is always comfortable on any occasion from day to night, and the wide range of available quality bases in different weights, colours and designs makes it ideal for making both a formal or a casual shirt.

 

A special treatment

The secret of these fabrics lies in an innovative low temperature treatment that, during finishing, modifies the fibre structure, parallelising it and making it more uniform and linear. This treatment, in creating spaces between one fibre and the other, gives the fabric a natural elasticity, without resorting to the use of synthetic components.

The cotton used to make ECOtone fabrics comes exclusively from biological crops that do not use pesticides, insecticides, chemical fertilisers and GMOs. Production processes use reduced quantities of water and are produced in the plants of the Albini Group, where close attention is paid to energy saving and the use of renewable energy sources.

All ECOtone fabrics are accompanied by the GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standards) certification, which attests the actual production of yarn exclusively with organic cotton.

The ECOtone fabric is hypoallergenic, breathable and comfortable with a unique stylistic reason: this fabric is born with a formal interpretation, but it is suitable to be adapted to any kind of transformation thanks to its versatility. Wearing a shirt made in ECOtone means making an ethical choice in confronting the environment, without sacrificing the quality of the precious fabrics for shirts Made in Italy by Albini.

Traceability of the production process

Thanks to the complete control of all the phases of the supply chain, Albini guarantees the complete traceability of every metre of fabric, identifying the raw materials with which it was manufactured, where it was produced and where it was checked.

Albini Group is committed to keeping PH and solidity levels under control and to ensure the absence of formaldehyde and hazardous substances throughout the textile production cycle.

A fibre of botanical origins, TENCEL® is extracted from cellulose from South African eucalyptus forests, whose cultivation is handled in a sustainable way.
In addition, TENCEL® fibers are created through a particularly environmentally friendly industrial process, which involves the complete reuse of solvents used.

Albini chooses exclusively TENCEL MICRO® fibers, which are spun in Italy at the Albini Group’s factories to obtain finest yarns up to the 100/1 yarn count, and with which are created sophisticated high quality fabrics for refined looking garments. Pure or blended with cotton, TENCEL® gives the fabrics a silky touch, while keeping them strong and breathable.

Natural characteristics

TENCEL® fibre is able to completely absorb excess moisture and carry it outside the garment, providing comfort and freshness to the wearer in all seasons. Thanks to this perfect moisture management, bacterial proliferation is reduced without the application of any chemical additives.

Albini’s Super Bazin Riche are lustrous and durable cotton fabrics in damask effects and bright colours. They are the ideal choice for the making of prestigious clothes for men and women. Extremely popular in West Africa, these fabrics represent the luxury of excellence, being used on the most important and formal occasions. The finishing, devised by Albini Group, makes them lightweight, durable and breathable for optimal comfort.
The creativity of the designers, technical expertise, state-of-the-art machinery combined with high quality standards and the passion of five generations, allow Albini to propose an innovative fabric for the African market.

The Finishing

Albini’s Bazin fabrics are made with a special finish that allows for fragrant handmade fabrics characterised by brilliant whites and vivid and lustrous colours, on which a persistent fragrance is applied.