As for me two last seasons passed under a sign a cashmere. In this connection let’s try to understand, what such the cashmere, what is made it famous and where he can be purchased.


From the history of cashmere. None other fabric can be simultaneous such soft, tender, easy and warm as a cashmere is an unique, natural fibre. Many peopele are wrong, when they think that a cashmere is expensive wool or well made wool. No, a cashmere is a fuzz (slave) of mountain goat, pulled out or combed out by hand in spring, when after winter colds a fuzz becomes not needed for goat. Basic suppliers of cashmere fuzz are China (province of China, urgent Internal Mongolia) and Mongolia. At the market a cashmere appears also from India (a basic region is the state Kashmir), Iran and Afghanistan. But this fuzz is more dirty, hair thicker and more dark, therefore the cost of such fuzz notedly below. Selectionists tried to conduct cashmere goats in other places. The goats were removed to Australia, New Zeland and Scotland. But in other climatic terms precious slave lost the qualities: lightness and surprising ability to save warmly. May be the reasons are in absence of sharp continental climate with cold the winter and hot summer.

A cashmere is goat’s fuzz with light-beige color, with thickness from 12,5 to 21µm, length from 25 to 90mm. It has unique natural characteristics: very light, tender, soft, not allergen, elastic, hygroscopic, durable, very warm, looks always expensive and elegantly. From one goat, on the average, comb in a season molting from 100 to the 200 grames fuzz, for a year – to 400-500 grames. Garments from this raw material are quite expensive, because unique natural properties, that make up his value, can give only cashmere goats, reared in the foot-hills of Tibet, in Manchu (Internal Mongolia) and in Mongolia.

Transported in other countries and continents, these goats acquired a bulge and inflexibility of fuzz, darkening of color, increase of pulling, what is lowered the value of cashmere raw material considerably.

Also you can find inscription “100% Cashmere” on scarves of doubtful origin. But there is brand Loro Piana, that make their produces from pure cashmere. This cashmere is given only goat of breed Carpa Hircus, thus dwelling in an untame variant and exceptionally in a severe mountain climate. At first they lived in Gimalayakh, in the district of Kashmir, where hot and dryly in summer, and in winter the temperature can be up to -50°C (about -60F). In such terms for goats grows two types of fuzz: overhead, that is rough and for the production of crewel is useless, And the other one,which from the throat and underbelly is incredibly soft and downy. Approximately in XVIII age these goats migrated to Mongolia and now work out it slave in the hellish climate of the desert of Gobi and neighbouring alpine districts.

And Loro Piana use only Mongolian and Chinese cashmere. Therefore it is not needed to be surprised an incredibly high price on an ordinary in appearance sweater. In fact from one goat in a year will not get more than 200 grames of fuzz. And as ordinary it is  culled up to 80% raw material. That’s why sometimes cashmere is called soft gold.