On the top floor of Colombo Textile Mills in the town of Borgosesia—about an hour’s drive northwest of Milan—sit neat stacks of fabric. A sheet of paper on top of each stack bears a familiar name: Donna Karan, Jil Sander, Prada, Armani, Valentino and others. Soon these bolts of rich cashmere yardage will be cut, shaped and sewn by the world’s top designers.
Two floors down, in a tiny office just off the weaving room, the wall is covered with photos of Colombo’s real fashion stars: shaggy horned goats “clothed” in the world’s most exclusive fiber: cashmere. These goats, natives of the cold, dry Mongolian steppes, grow a warm, protective undercoat that is combed out by hand and shipped by train thousands of miles to a handful of luxury mills in Italy’s Valsesia Valley. Here, we discover how these mills turn natural goat hair into the world’s most luxuriously soft fabric.
The Deluxe is in the DetailsAlthough it was the British who first brought cashmere to Europe (and it was a Scot who invented the cashmere twin-set), it took the Italians to turn it into something extraordinary. Beginning in the late nineteenth century, Italian manufacturers distinguished themselves by transforming cashmere yarns into garments that were lighter weight, more durable and more stylish than those produced elsewhere in Europe.
The secret lies in the attention to detail—whether they're choosing the goats or finishing the garments. Stefano Moscardi, president of Natural Fantasy Mills, has spent decades building relationships with goat-herding families in Mongolia "to ensure that I get the very best wool from the very best goats," he says. Today, manufacturers in China also use Mongolian cashmere, but "produce lower quality products because they don't have the experience and history," Moscardi says.
Michele del Visco, a manager at Colombo, smiles with pride when describing the dried thistles he uses to comb and clean his wool. "Hardly anyone uses thistles anymore because they break and have to be changed so often," he says. "But they give the wool a softness and finish you can't get from using metal alone."
Loro Festa Mills, which supplies yarns to companies such as Versace, Chanel and J. Crew, is exacting when it comes to creating the perfect colors for its clients. "A designer sends us a tiny piece of fabric or a leaf or a plastic pen, and says, 'Make me yarn in this color,'" explains president Giacomo Loro. "So that's what we do. We have sixty versions of black alone," as well as more than ten thousand other hues.
How to Recognize Good Cashmere
Not all cashmere is created equal; even the best raw material can be ruined if combed, dyed or woven improperly. After checking for the "Made in Italy" tag, be sure to look for these hallmarks of the best Italian cashmere:
Denseness and durability. Even a thin cashmere sweater should feel tightly woven and strong, not flimsy or slippery. Ability to hold its shape. Good cashmere retains its shape for decades and won't stretch out when worn or washed.
Minimal pilling. "Baby goats produce the softest fleece," says Stefano Mutano, director of raw materials at Colombo, "but the fibers are still short, which means that they'll break more easily and cause pilling." Although even the most expensive cashmere sweater will pill a little, a good mill will find the right combination of soft, short fibers and longer, slightly coarser fibers to retain softness and strength, Mutano explains.
Choose a trustworthy brand. If you find a brand of cashmere that you like, trust your instincts. "For value and design, I'd buy cashmere from Hermes, Loro Piana, Ralph Lauren and J. Crew," recommends Rebecca Moses, a Valsesia-based cashmere designer.
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