Moessmer's Woolly Fashion

South Tyrol’s celebrated wool and cashmere fashion house, Moessmer, is no stranger to the twin darlings of fame and legacy. Established in 1894 in Brunico (Bruneck), Moessmer has designed for and dressed royals from the great Habsburg court, collab’d with modern day fashion labels such as Prada, Armani, Brunello Cucinelli, Dolce & Gabbana and Louis Vuitton, and even dressed America’s previous first lady, Michelle Obama. A design and client roster that has sat snugly toe to toe with fame throughout the ages.

On the side of legacy, however, Moessmer is also up there, considered responsible for the resurgence in popularity of the warm, reputedly thousand-year old “loden” fabric, originally a coarse thick and waterproof wool made from mountain sheep, and an integral part of South Tyrol’s ancient heritage. First bursting forth when Moessmer dressed Emperor Franz Josef in a white coat of loden mixed with merino wool, this saw tradition come back into style and now loden can be seen most commonly these days in the classic forest green.

Proud purveyors of their South Tyrolean roots, those in the fashion world who should know about Moessmer (wink wink) do know, so we thought it was time that you knew too. When the mood strikes in South Tyrol and you want a stop-off in a world that mixes high-end fashion with heritage design, you now know where to turn.

Truly a fashion force to be reckoned with, Moessmer are one of the last textile companies still producing all-encompassing threads, from wool to high-end fabrics like cashmere, and they are even now branching out into the interiors market with their development and design of the first and only fire-proof loden – do your cushions need an update?

Stock up on their coveted fabrics yourself or snap up some outerwear straight of the peg, in particular it is Moessmer’s factory outlet on the outskirts of Brunico that is well worth a visit, even if just for its amazing Disney-style sign and early-20^th century industrial design (although we think you fashionistas will appreciate a warm design gem when you see it).

From one purveyor of South Tyrolean legacy to others, the Parkhotel Mondschein is only a 5-minute walk from Bolzano’s Moessmer store (Musterplatz 3 – Piazza della Mostra 2).

Meanwhile, Moessmer’s Brunico factory outlet (Via Walter von der Vogelweide Str. 6) is only a 30-minute drive from Hotel Milla Montis. 

Editor’s Journal Edit

For more on South Tyrolean gems peek in out Travel Journal at Zaha Hadid’s Messner Mountain Museum, before diving into our breakdown of the eleven corners of South Tyrol. Quench your fashion thirst with a gaze at Polish thisisnon, before going Austrian with Helmut Lang and Swiss with all things Bally.