Reda

Merino worsted from farm to finish

Reda has woven merino worsted in the hills of Biella since 1865, when Carlo Reda founded the mill in Valle Mosso. The Botto Poala family took the reins in 1919 and still runs it, four generations on. When floods destroyed the mill in 1968, the family rebuilt.

What makes Reda unusual is how far back the house reaches. In 1993 it bought Otamatapaio Station in New Zealand, then added Rugged Ridges and Glenrock, around 30,000 merino sheep across 74,100 acres. Very few mills own the paddock as well as the loom. Reda controls every step from fleece to finished bolt, and it shows in the consistency of what arrives on the roll.

For us that means dependable suit cloth in the best sense. The colour is consistent from bolt to bolt and the weight is honest. It presses flat and stays pressed.

Ask to see the Reda bunches at a fitting when the brief is a suit that has to earn its keep. This is cloth chosen by people who know exactly which sheep it came from.