Pantherella has operated out of the same family owned factory in Leicester, England since 1937.
Making the world's finest socks from the most luxurious fibres is what we do and who we are. Our expertise and world renowned craftsmanship has been passed down from generation to generation to ensure that Pantherella socks remain the world's finest.
Why is it there?
Leicester city has historically had a strong association with the production of textiles, clothing and shoes. The current factory is situated in a housing estate that was built in 1924 and many of our employees live close by.
How long has it been there?
The Zanetic Works building was originally constructed for Pencarbon Co. in the 1910s when they were listed as manufacturers of the celebrated Zanetic Penduplicating Paper. In 1940 Pantherella moved from Staffordshire to the site in Hallaton Street, Leicester; and in 1962 it moved to its present, larger site in the same street.
Who works in the factory?
The Pantherella workforce is made up of many departments: Knitting, Toe Closing, Wet Process, Design & Development, Production, Sales, Accounts, Marketing and Quality Control.
The skills of our Knitters, Knitting Mechanics, Linkers and Trimmers are unique to the hosiery industry and take years to perfect.
What is the process behind making a Pantherella sock?
At the start of the season our design team visit the Pitti Filati show in Florence, Italy, the main international event for the knitting yarn industry, to research new yarn developments and global trends.
Once the yarns for the season have been decided on, new designs are drawn up back in the studio at Hallaton Street and then developed via our CAD technicians into knitting patterns.
Quality control inspect the socks as they come off the machines to ensure size, fit and consistency.
The knitted socks move from the knitting machine room through to the toe-closing department where many are carefully hand-linked together to give a virtually seamless toe for added comfort.
Next the socks are washed, shaped and dried and any stray threads are trimmed – at this stage our team of examiners also carefully inspect each individual sock for any irregularities.
Finally the socks are paired and hand-packed ready for dispatch to our customers.