The history of the Cruciani knitwear brand is the story of continuity and family tradition. The post-war period in Italy was a time of opportunity for many. This was also felt by Arnaldo Caprai from Umbria, who at the age of 22 began selling home textiles, and in 1955 decided to establish his own small production. His factory produced embroidered bed linen, tablecloths and napkins. Arnaldo, a great connoisseur of textiles, also created one of the largest archives of lace and embroidery. His son Luca Caprai continued the family tradition, but lay emphasis on another traditionally Umbrian industry: cashmere production. In 1992, he founded the Cruciani brand relying on the best materials, innovative technologies and craftsmanship. The factory buys its high quality cashmere from Inner Mongolia (China), and uses it to create time-proven knitwear models. The design team carefully creates the color palette for each season, achieving the most unusual shades, and also looking for new ways of dyeing both the yarn and the finished products. Cruciani was one of the first to refuse harsh chemical dyes. Instead he turned to flower infusions, berries and plant roots. Sustainability and environmental awareness of the production are the key principles of the Cruciani brand. That is why they are marked by the Norwegian certificate Det Norske Veritas “for the protection of life, property and nature”.
The quality of Cruciani knitwear is easily verified by the product weight. With the same yarn quality and number of threads, Cruciani sweaters weigh on average 10% more than similar products of most other brands. The secret lies in the brand’s use of thinner and longer cashmere fibers in the yarn, which protects knitwear from bobbling, and also makes products more durable.
Cruciani's most luxurious materials are Cullinam and Red Diamond yarns, which are 6.5 times thinner than a human hair, and the brand uses them to create a limited number of products. In the Sartale store you can find polos, pullovers, sweaters, cardigans, along with Cruciani knitted jackets made of 100% cashmere and mixed materials.
