I thought this might be a good time to explain what mohair actually is. Its instantly recognizable with its long usually slightly curly and shaggy appearance, and most of us instantly see it shedding all over anything it touches. In reality, mohair actually doesn't shed quite as badly as some of its woolly peers like angora (that gets over EVERYTHING but it's oh so soft). It actually has a lot of great qualities...its durable moisture and flame resistant and almost nearly impossible to crease. Its insulating properties are some of the best in the world. All of those qualities combine to make mohair a luxury fiber.... fit for cold-weather Prada jackets.
A few interesting facts to know about mohair:
1) It's one of the oldest used textile fibers in the world.
2) It comes from the angora goat.... Not to be confused with angora wool... which, actually comes from a rabbit.
3) The wool is obtained by sheering the angora goat twice a year. This is a non-harmful process (just like getting a hair cut) that yields anywhere from 11-17lbs of hair per goat per year.
4) The younger the goat is, the thinner the fibers are resulting in many different variations of wool all from the same goat.
5) While the angora goat originated in Tibet and migrated down to Turkey, it is now South Africa that accounts for 60% of the worlds mohair exports.
I'm sure you were all dying to know all of that.... don't worry, we'll get to the Prada lesson eventually. I think it's relevant to understand where the materials are coming from though when your forking over that kind of cash for a garment. 7 times out of 10 you're paying for the quality of the materials, so you should always know what you're wearing.
It's just great.
ReplyDelete