Atelier Lavs’ creations have been seen by the eyes of the world on several occasions. Pope Francis was wearing one of them – a magnificent chasuble handcrafted in two days and a half in the workshop of Santarcangelo di Romagna – when he presided over the Mass for the solemn inauguration of his Pontificate, on 19 March 2013. This was not the first time that the Vatican turned to the Italian atelier for liturgical vestments. Lavs, whose name is both the acronym of Laboratory Atelier Sacred Vestments and “Lauds” in Latin, was founded in 2001 by young and eclectic Filippo Sorcinelli, artisan, artist, organist and nowadays even a perfumer.

Fascinated by religion since childhood, when his mother used to volunteer at the local church, he considered becoming a priest but then discovered tailoring as another way to serve the Lord. After sewing his first chasuble for a friend, he launched the atelier, that soon grew bigger and has built its reputation for high quality, flawless products. The liturgical vestments, such as chasubles, miters, and stoles are handcrafted with Italian materials, like wool from Biella and silk from Como and Venice, and have a signature style inspired by the Middle Ages, strictly geometrical, with a triangle, circle and square as the basis for every decoration.