co-evolution

Each piece in this collection reflects the natural treasures of the Mongolian Steppe and the care and dedication Nomads have for their land and animals.

Culture Creates Luxury A consumer may only see the end result; warm luxury fabrics that can be shaped into any garment they might desire. But for the nomads, it all begins with the connection they have with their animals. Goats and Yaks are the companions of the nomads in this unforgiving environment. Every gust of wind and every harsh winter night in their world shape the long fine threads that make Mongolian cashmere and Yak wool some of the most desirable materials on the planet. The bone-chilling temperatures on the plateau can fall below -40 Celsius, and it is only in this environment that Hircus goats can grow the velvety undercoat that creates our cloud-like cashmere. Their coats are dense and packed with incredibly fine hairs that measure 19 microns or less individually, arguably creating the most luxurious feeling cashmere in the world.

But why Mongolia? Why not raise the goats in Milton Keynes? It would undoubtedly be less expensive and make the whole process of sourcing cashmere considerably less involved. The short answer is that the finest cashmere can only be harvested from goats living in the world’s harshest environments. “The particular softness of this cashmere is entirely due to the harshness of the weather,” Loro Piana CEO Fabio d’Angelantonio tells me. “It’s an interesting matter of contrast: the more severe the weather, the softer the cashmere.”

Nomads respect the land on which they live, caring for the animals in their charge like no other. This unique, symbiotic connection with the world around them enables them to preserve their environment on the Mongolian plateau, keeping it, as it would have been centuries earlier.

The imposing Helan mountains and vast deserts of the Alashan region in Inner Mongolia have been home to the herdsmen and their flocks of indigenous Capra hircus goats for hundreds of years. The goats’ long, white fleeces protect them from the extreme climate, while their soft, insulating under-fleeces, brushed out carefully by hand each spring, produce the finest cashmere fibers in the world. However, the introduction of a new, less sustainable but more productive breed threatens this isolated community’s traditional livelihood and its fragile ecosystem.

co-evolution Goats and humans have co-evolved in the steppes of Inner Asia. Goats rely on combing each Spring in order to be relieved of excess wool. This is related to the argument that goats herded by humans have co-evolved with grassland vegetation species (#pastoralism-biodiversity). Also encompassed in this frame is the concept of Inner Asian grasslands as a niche ecosystem, and as a necessary determinant for quality cashmere.