Harper's Bazaar (Singapore)

JEAN WEAVER

The world’s softest denim combines Japanese cotton and Italian cashmere

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Loro Piana has been a leader in textile innovation for nearly a century, transformi­ng the underfleec­e shed by Capra hircus goats native to the steppes of Mongolia and northern China into the world’s finest cashmere knits. For its fall pioneer-inspired collection, the Italian house gave denim the Loro Piana treatment, creating the first cashmere-denim blend. “We all love jeans and wanted to make them warmer, softer, and more luxurious,” explains Loro Piana Womenswear Design Director Alessandra Varianini of the motivation.

Partnering with an artisanal denim mill in the Bingo region of Japan, Loro Piana developed a technique for weaving a warp of indigo-dyed cotton yarn with a weft of cashmere. The cloth is woven very slowly on traditiona­l selvage denim shuttle looms half the width of mechanical ones. Only about 50 metres—enough for fewer than 20 pairs of jeans—can be produced per day. The cashmere-denim fabric is then finished at a factory in Italy’s Piedmont region and tailored into trouser jeans, resulting in a beautiful warm blue denim with an incredibly rich, smooth texture. ■

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