Production of zippers and zips
Zippers and zips throughout Italy
Nardo Villa in Milan produces zippers using only the finest components. Quality materials and artisanal craftsmanship ensure completely customized zippers built to last. Nardo Villa is more than just a shop: it's a place where tradition and quality meet every day, a living fragment of Milan's history that continues to evolve without losing its identity.
Our story
1938
In the hidden courtyard of a central Milan building, behind the seventeenth-century doorway on Via Durini, a workshop has existed for over eighty years, a workshop that has shaped the history of the city and Italian fashion: Ditta Nardo Villa. Our business was founded on December 1, 1938, at Via Passerella 26, when Carlo Leonardo Villa—known to all as Nardo—understood the growing importance of zippers in a booming textile industry. Since then, through wars, reconstructions, and transformations in fashion, the company has never ceased to preserve and pass on its unique artisanal expertise.
After the war, the headquarters moved to Via Durini 24, in the Caproni building, which remains our home today. A young apprentice arrived here in the 1950s: Francesco Breda. He would become the beating heart of the company, working side by side with Nardo for nearly thirty years, until taking over his legacy in 1979. With him and his wife Armida, the company entered the golden age of Milanese fashion: among its clients were young designers destined to become icons, from Gianni Versace to Domenico Dolce.
Post-war and 70s
From the 2000s to today
In 2001, the baton was passed to Ranieri Cantù, who continued the journey with the same dedication and artisanal care. The new generation arrived in 2011 with Eleonora, bringing innovation and a contemporary vision without betraying the workshop's roots. Today, we are a small team, custodians of a one-of-a-kind warehouse and a workshop capable of creating custom zippers for individuals, stylists, and companies. With hundreds of zipper types—some unobtainable elsewhere—we continue to offer experience, reliability, and the kind of craftsmanship that stands the test of time.
Production of zippers for clothing and fashion accessories
Coil zippers, metal zippers, fixed and split zippers, invisible zippers, tent zippers: no matter the material, type, or size. Whether it's a zipper or a zipper, Nardo Villa is there and offers the utmost expertise, even for customers needing just a single part. Visit our Milan store and you're sure to appreciate the craftsmanship and quality of our work. This is because we employ only highly qualified and constantly trained staff, making Nardo Villa a true point of reference in all of Milan, as it has been for nearly eighty years. The long history of the Nardo Villa company began way back in 1938 when, in a 17th-century building in the heart of Milan, they began producing zippers of all types and sizes. That story continues today, and Nardo Villa's success is due precisely to the knowledge passed down over so many years of work, which allows it to maintain extremely high production quality and makes wholesale sales the Milanese company's main focus.
