How Loro Piana Works with Mongolian Goat Hers to Gather the World's Softest Cashmere
There is cashmere, and then there is cashmere. One is that soft, everyday sweater almost everyone keeps at-hand in the closet, the other is technically the same fabric, but with a superbly soft feel that persuades you to linger awhile. It is not easy to find that elusive, ultra-high-end cashmere so when Loro Piana went searching for it, the Italian luxury clothier ended up in the west end of Inner Mongolia, on the Helan Mountains.
There, the local communities harvest ultra-fine, soft cashmere from one-year-old kid goats (capra hircus), an incredibly rare fiber. Thanks to the region’s extremely harsh weather conditions, the goats develop fleece in two layers: a coarse, scraggly exterior and a downy dense under-fleece.
In June, when the weather gets warmer, the goats naturally shed the fleece and the herders gather up the cashmere. Although adult goats continue to grow the cashmere coats each year (humans should be so lucky), it is the first shedding that is highly prized for its quality and fineness; it is 15 percent finer than the adult coats.
To protect this precious resource, Loro Piana started working with the goat herders in 1995, but it took over a decade to cultivate the relationship and fiber to the point of production. This marks the tenth year of successful baby cashmere production. This month, Loro Piana is celebrating its dedication to pursuing the best materials with Baby Cashmere Jubilee, a capsule collection that showcases the impeccable texture of baby cashmere.
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