Balenciaga Revives a 1960s Tuscan Factory to 'The Plant'

Balenciaga has opened The Plant, a new leather goods factory in Cerreto Guidi in Tuscany, delivering its first in house production site in Italy and turning an abandoned complex into a flagship for regenerative luxury manufacturing. Led by Florence studio Metrooffice Architetti, the project carefully restores a former 1960s leather factory while adding a contemporary, light filled production hub and training center for the maison’s next generation of artisans.

From Enny Factory To “The Plant”

The Plant occupies the former Enny leather factory, founded in the 1960s by Giovanni Battista Cappellini, a key post war entrepreneur whose workshops produced handbags shipped across Italy and abroad before the site eventually fell into disuse. Rather than build new, Balenciaga chose to regenerate the existing 8,000 square metre industrial complex, embracing its three historical volumes built between the 1960s and 1980s and adapting them for today’s needs.

Metro office Architetti restored exposed reinforced concrete as a “gentle nod” to the original structure, then replaced the overly tall roof with two superimposed slabs that visually lower the building and make it feel suspended among the olive trees of the surrounding Tuscan landscape. The result is a series of horizontal planes and glazed cuts that echo the region’s industrial vernacular while clearly signalling a new chapter under Balenciaga’s ownership.

Inside The New Leather Hub

Functionally, the Plant is both a factory and a school. One wing was converted first into a training centre, with open plan workspaces, cutting areas, and offices that house the maison’s apprenticeship programs and technical teams. The main block unfolds over several levels: a basement for parking, an entrance level with reception, offices, an auditorium, storage, changing rooms and cutting departments, and an upper level dedicated entirely to production in a large, column free hall.

Credit: Marco Cappelletti

Above, a glazed lobby links to a garden and the training centre, while a connecting volume known as The Bridge has been redesigned to host the canteen and kitchen facilities, turning circulation space into social space. New material choices, exposed concrete, grey resin floors, glass, aluminium and visible technical systems softened by acoustic panels, create a raw yet precise architectural language that foregrounds making rather than hiding it.

Strategy: Internalising Leather Goods Production

The Plant is central to Balenciaga’s long term strategy to internalise a significant share of its leather goods, gaining more direct control over quality and capacity while still working with top tier Tuscan suppliers. Gianfranco Gianangeli, CEO of Balenciaga, said the brand already produces 100% of its leather goods in Tuscany and now wants to integrate part of the production under its own roof as a cultural as well as industrial gesture.

The site currently employs 176 people and is expected to double its workforce within the next two years, with growth paced at the speed of hands to protect training and craft standards. An apprenticeship track known as the Master Bag Maker curriculum pairs students with artisans so they can learn the full production process of a luxury bag, positioning The Plant as a living ecosystem for Balenciaga’s savoir faire rather than just a back of house factory.

Regeneration As Design Principle

The decision to refurbish the Enny factory, rather than construct a new building, cuts the environmental impact associated with ground up development and symbolically breathes new life into a site tied to Tuscany’s leather heritage. Inside, bright spaces, outdoor views and generous circulation aim to support wellbeing alongside efficiency, reflecting a new standard for what high end manufacturing can look like.

The Plant is described as raw architecture that recentres manufacturing within luxury culture, making the act of making visible and aspirational. For Balenciaga, it is both a strategic lever, securing capacity and quality for its booming leather category, and a physical manifesto for how heritage, craft training, and sustainability can be woven into the next industrial chapter.