Manifattura Fraizzoli & C.: A Century in Uniform

To understand Fraizzoli, you must follow the traces of history right back to just after World War I. Leonardo had returned to his city after victory and demobilization. Times were turbulent and difficult. He found a job working for the Cooperative Union. His role as a shop assistant was not enough for him. From that moment on, he began to work on a project to manufacture uniforms: a type of production that no one had ever thought of before. In 1923, Leonardo Fraizzoli opened the "Fabbrica Italiana di Uniformi Civili" (Italian Factory of Civilian Uniforms). He was an innovator, and not just in his specialization. The war had deeply affected Leonardo, so although the uniform sector promised good business, he did not want to have to deal with anything that reminded him of the horrors of the trenches.

For many years, he continued to produce the most varied genres of uniforms, while always keeping his distance from the military domain.
Leonardo is receptive of the innovations that he sees abroad. Back from London he adopts an effective innovation: the use of hangers. Items of clothing are no longer piled into shelves but are hanged, ready to be seen.

In the 1930s catalog, he carefully defined the sectors that the now "Manifattura Fraizzoli" would target: banks, colleges, municipalities, musical bodies, firemen, railways, institutes, tram operators, etc. It was an almost compulsory step that saw the firm become an official supplier of the Municipality of Milan, including the municipal office's employees, clerks, and ushers, and above all, the so-called “ghisa” or urban police force.

Before the Second World War, the son Ivanoe arrives to the factory, facing the difficulties of the conflict. In 1943 the bombings destroy the factory. After the war the factory reopens and the big expansion years start. In Europe and around the world luxury hotel chains, railroads companies, the army and private clients commission Fraizzoli's products.

A bigger factory was needed. As a result, the company left the city center in the early 1980s, under the direction of Ivano Fraizzoli, to move to Pogliaghi in the ​​Giambellino region. Then came the third generation, Leonardo and Renato Caglioni—two grandchildren who ran the business for over twenty years and drove it forward through difficult years in the textile and clothing industry.

In 2015, they left the family business and it was taken over by a new company, Adventures, which was already in the school uniform market. Its founders had strong past experience in the clothing industry and in turning around companies with high potential.
Under Alessandro Moro, Paolo Restelli, Edoardo Schapira, Gherardo Barbini, and Antonio Tazartes, "Manifattura Fraizzoli" entered the new millennium, renewing and revitalizing the quality and capability of Milanese uniforms around the world.

There is no longer a difference between a "uniform" and a garment. All that remains is that distinctive element that marks a difference in terms of style and efficiency, and which also determines the image and reliability of those who carry out a job. It is the identification not only of a responsibility, but of belonging.

Once the graphic sketch has been approved according to the needs of the customer and the production capacities of the individual operators, the prototype design template is created using the finest fabrics and accessories.

The CAD office prepares the cutting plan, that is, the optimal placement of the templates based on consumption, assuming the best yield needed for the fabric.
The automatic-cutter operator receives the cutting plan and analyzes it by video, while those in charge of spreading the fabric prepare the "mattress" for cutting, meaning however many layers of fabric are needed to cut the number of garments planned by the CAD office.

The "mattress" is automatically transported to the suction area to prevent the fabric from moving during the cutting phase, carried out by the automatic cutting machine. The computer completely autonomously and automatically cuts the various pieces of fabric that will then be assembled in packs (sleeves, front, back, collars, etc.).

The cut pieces of fabric are ready. They are then combined with accessories and prepared for the production chain, to be sent for tailoring internally or to numerous external tailors in Italy and abroad.

The next step involves adding eyelets and buttons, and carrying out quality control, before the garment is ironed, packaged, and either hung-up or folded depending on the type of garment it is.