Christia was founded in 1968 by Mr Manlio Sorio, who decided to open a workshop making leather and sheepskin clothing. The little workshop grew and expanded to become one of Italy’s leading makers of quality clothing. Mr. Sorio’s major achievement was that he changed the way customers perceived sheepskin jackets. He succeeded in creating warm and lightweight coats that not only offered protection from the cold, but were so elegant and feminine that they could even be worn on formal occasions.

In the early 1980s, flanked by a young designing talent, Flavio Napoleone from the Moschino group, he began selecting materials by working with the most famous Spanish tanneries of the day. Those artisans were able to create the soft, lightweight tanned hides that designers and manufacturers had only dreamed about up to then.

These top-quality skins were indeed game-changers when it came to making unique, elegant and feminine sheepskins coats. Christia’s collections soon began being noticed beyond Italy’s borders. Within just a few years the label was available throughout the world, and participated in major fashion events in Europe and abroad.cIn 1994, Christia was one of the first shearling companies to enter the Chinese market, presenting her collections at fairs and holding fashion shows in Beijing.

Even today, lightweight, softness and elegance are at the heart of each of Christia’s creations. The firm continues to maintain the tradition of handcrafting. Expert hands perform each step: from selecting the skins, to cutting, sewing, finishing and quality control under the constant supervision of the production manager so that each coat leaving the company is perfect.