Cariaggi Cashemre Yarn : Brunello Cucinelli's Exclusive Supplier, Specializing in Tightly Woven Cashmere Yarns with Superior Anti-Pilling Properties
From the perspective of cashmere yarn selection, I categorize cashmere brands into four tiers:
First Tier:
Top luxury brands that prioritize fabric quality choose yarn suppliers like Lora Piana, as seen in Hermes and Fabiana Gavazzi, or Cariaggi, used by Brunello Cucinelli, Sa Su Phi, and Johnston of Elgin.
Lora Piana yarns: Loose and soft, often made from finer Baby Cashmere.
Cariaggi yarns: Dense and practical, with excellent anti-pilling properties.
Second Tier:
Brands like Malo , Piacenza 1733, and Agnona produce their own yarns and garments. They have cooperative ranches in Mongolia and Inner Mongolia. Their yarns are of good quality, but public information about them is limited compared to Lora Piana and Cariaggi
Third Tier:
Professional cashmere brands that do not produce yarn but focus on more accessible price points. Examples include: Le Kasha,N.Peal,TSE,Lisa Yang
These brands may not use high-end cashmere yarn brands like Cariaggi or Lora Piana. However, they pay great attention to the environmental impact, fineness, dyeing, processing methods, locations, and factories involved. Some even collaborate with manufacturers to develop new fabrics and techniques.
Fourth Tier:
Brands like Khaite are non-specialized cashmere brands. Their sweaters are made in the UK or Mongolia, emphasizing design and outsourcing production. While they may value material quality, their standards are generally not as rigorous as specialized cashmere brands.
Cariaggi cashmere yarns are highly renowned. Many Chinese Taobao stores and women's fashion shops intentionally display Cariaggi labels to showcase their quality.
I first learned about Cariaggi through Brunello Cucinelli. While shopping at SKP and Lane Crawford stores, I noticed their cashmere felt different—harder and denser compared to the typical soft cashmere. Intrigued, I discovered that this was due to Cariaggi yarn, which is Brunello Cucinelli's exclusive yarn supplier.
Famous Clients of Cariaggi: Givenchy, Dior, Johnston of Elgin (known for sticking to Scottish manufacturing while sourcing yarns from suppliers like Cariaggi) ,Akris ,Sa Su Phi
01
Cariaggi was founded by Aurelio Cariaggi in Italy in 1958. The Cariaggi factory headquarters is located in the small town of Cagli, in the Pesaro E Urbino province of the Marche region. To honor Aurelio Cariaggi's contributions, the street where the factory is situated was named Via Aurelio Cariaggi. The brand has consistently maintained a family-run approach.
Cagli, Pesaro and Urbino, Marche
The entire Marche region is not particularly well-known and isn't economically very developed. The towns are quite niche, giving an impression of slight decay. Even Urbino has a feel of an old, vintage film, reminiscent of a worn-out, cool atmosphere from the 1970s Cuba.
When Brunello Cucinelli was 25 years old, he kickstarted his brand by purchasing twenty kilograms of light brown cashmere yarn from Aurelio Cariaggi, the founder of Cariaggi.
Looking at the map, these two brands are quite close, both located in central Italy - one in Marche, the other in Umbria, rather than in the traditional textile hub of Velsesia north of Milan.
Initially, Cariaggi focused on producing wool and cashmere textiles. As their production techniques improved, Cariaggi began to innovate in the 1960s, exploring how to blend cashmere with other high-end fibers like silk and wool to create more diverse fabrics. During this period, Cariaggi also started providing custom fabrics to globally renowned fashion brands, rapidly expanding its influence in the international market.
With the acceleration of globalization, Cariaggi quickly expanded its business globally. In the 1990s, the company not only gained a larger market share in traditional European markets but also established deep collaborative relationships with some of the world's top fashion brands.
In 2022, Brunello Cucinelli acquired 43% of Cariaggi Lanificio's shares. In 2023, Brunello Cucinelli sold part of his stake in the historic spinning mill Cariaggi Lanifico to Chanel. Through this transaction, Chanel acquired a total of 24.5% of Cariaggi Lanifico's shares, with 18.5% coming from Brunello Cucinelli and the remaining 6% from the Cariaggi family. As a result, the Cariaggi family still maintains a 51% controlling stake, with Brunello Cucinelli and Chanel each holding 24.5%.
02
Cariaggi primarily sources its cashmere from the border region between China and Mongolia, using a goat breed called Hircus. During the mild spring season, shepherds collect the fibers through "combing" from the neck and belly areas, where the fibers are most dense, compact, and soft. Annually, one Hircus goat can yield 150-250 grams of fine down.
(Note: The author notes some confusion about the Hircus breed, as it translates to a common domesticated goat, not a specific breed like Alxa or Albus.)
Cariaggi uses cashmere fibers with a length between 38-40mm, which is uniform and provides exceptional anti-pilling capabilities, achieving a grade of 3 or higher. Quality control tests examine various aspects including anti-pilling resistance, luster, and color fastness after washing. As a result, Cariaggi's cashmere tends to be firmer and smoother, with less pilling - quite different from the current Chinese "soft and fluffy" cashmere. Garments made from Cariaggi yarn are more structured, shapely, and taut.
Some inferior, rough, and short cashmere fabrics intentionally create a soft, fluffy effect to mask the roughness and inconsistent yarn length. Such cashmere has a shorter wear life and is prone to pilling. These fabrics often add silicone, particularly amino silicone, primarily to enhance softness, smoothness, and volume.
In contrast, Lora Piana's top-tier kid cashmere is naturally soft and fluffy, with minimal stray fibers and fine thickness.
Cariaggi has also innovated in cashmere's lightweight characteristics. Their globally renowned 2/28 count cashmere yarn is extremely light, weighing 5-10% less on average compared to 2/27 or 2/26 count yarns.
Additionally, Cariaggi offers diverse product lines, including blended fabrics. Their cashmere-silk blend yarns are particularly distinctive, combining cashmere's warmth and breathability with silk's luster and smoothness.
Cariaggi also produces wool yarns, linen, and silk from other natural fibers. For wool yarns, they select New Zealand Merino wool, processed meticulously to ensure quality and performance. Linen yarns are sourced from Western European countries like France and Belgium.
Cariaggi is committed to eco-friendly dyeing processes, even using vegetable-based dyes (Botanical Dyed Cashmere Tech) while maintaining high color fastness.
Epilogue
Because Cariaggi specializes in yarn and fabric production, unlike Piacenza, Malo, or Lora Piana, they do not produce ready-to-wear garments.
Cariaggi's official website offers limited information. As a yarn brand, they have less publicly available material compared to garment brands. However, their industry position is so established that they're not lacking for clients.
Interestingly, even high-end European and American cashmere brands like Brunello Cucinelli and Sa Su Phi, who use Cariaggi's top-quality yarns, do not explicitly showcase this on their labels or websites. In contrast, some Chinese brands use lower-grade Cariaggi yarns and heavily promote this as a key selling point - revealing a potential lack of design and brand strength, attempting to attract consumers through fabric credentials.
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