Fabric raw materials overview

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While color, design, construction and style are all crucial things to consider when choosing a new suit, fabric is arguably the single most important element. The fabric will affect both function and aesthetic. A low-quality fabric will ultimately restrict a suit’s utility and wearability – a high-quality fabric can be worn anytime, anywhere.

We offer our customers several different materials to choose from, each with their own advantages. In many cases different materials are blended together to combine these benefits. For example, a fabric composition of 90WO 10WS means that the total weight of the fabric consists of 90% wool and 10% cashmere. An explanation of the materials primarily used in our collection can be found below.

Wool (WO)

Endlessly versatile, wool paves the way in suit fabric popularity. Suitable for both mid-day heat and colder evenings, it is ideal if you’re searching for that perfect year-round piece. Its natural characteristics fill the needs of its wearer, giving you that ultimate ‘classic’ suit appeal, while remaining soft and wrinkle-free throughout the day. To make wool, producers harvest the coat of animals and spin them into yarn, which is then woven into garments or other textiles. Wool is known for its durability and insulating properties; all natural qualities retained from the coat of these animals to see them through cold winters. While most people associate the word ‘wool’ with sheep, there are a variety of wools derived from other animals. The other special types of wool we use will be explained further on.

Pros

  • Can be worn all year around

  • Breathable

  • Recovers well from creasing

  • Shapes itself to the wearer’s body

  • Sustainable

  • Dirt-resistant

  • Water repellent

  • Wool can absorb up to at least 30% of its own weight in moisture without feeling damp. The moisture slowly evaporates back into the air with little or no cooling.

Alpaca (WP) & Vicuna (WG)

Alpaca and Vicuna are both llama breeds from the Andes Mountains in South America. They are only shorn every two years to produce what is considered to be the finest fabric of the world. These kinds of wool are 100% natural, hypoallergenic and free of lanolin. The fabric dyes well and won’t pill, as well as being soft and warm. Just as a llama’s coat keeps them comfortable in the mountains where it can be both very hot and very cold, fabrics made from these animals have similar temperature regulating properties; keeping you warm in the cold and cool in the heat. The fibre’s many advantages in combination with its rarity make it highly valuable – in fact, Vicuna is the most expensive wool in existence.

Pros

  • Warm and soft feel

  • Hypoallergenic and minimal skin irritation (not prickly)

  • Durable (no pilling)

  • Can be worn in all climates

Camel (WK)

Camel hair is the downy undercoat of the Bactrian or ‘Two-humped’ camel, common to the Mongol Steppes region and also found in areas spanning from Turkey to China and Siberia. While most camels are shorthaired, Bactrain camels are known for their long, lustrous coats. The very fine, soft, lightly crimped hair is beige in colour and naturally molts every spring. Camels under one year old have blonde, almost white ‘baby hair’ that is especially soft and valuable. Just as a camel’s coat keeps them warm in the cold of night and cool in the heat of day, fabrics made of camel hair are similarly very warm and protective.

Pros

  • Warm and soft

  • Perfect for all climates

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Cotton (CO)

If you’re after a slightly more casual vibe with your suit, cotton is your best bet. Not as warm as wool, cotton is a lightweight option with maximum breathability – perfect for the summer season.

Cotton is a 100% natural fibre, grown from the cotton plant. The material is made from the round, fluffy fibres that emerge and surround the plant’s seeds as they mature. Cotton is a lightweight fabric, yet still offers enough protection from the elements to keep you warm and comfortable during cold winter months. Compared to other fabrics, cotton is low-maintenance and known for its breathability.

Pros

  • Lightweight and breathable

  • Low-maintenance and casual look

  • Can be worn in warmer weather

Linen (LI)

Linen fabrics are a favourite for casual suits. Made from the fibre of the flax plant, it can be labour intensive to produce and difficult to weave due to a lack of elasticity. On the plus side, the fabric is incredibly cool, breathable and absorbent – fantastic for hot climates. And unlike other natural fibres, it is light and comfortable against the skin as well as being resistant to pilling Linen creases naturally and easily – it’s futile to fight. You can only embrace it or choose to not wear it at all. The distinct wrinkling is part of linen’s charm and what makes it great for casual wear.

Pros

  • Casual look and feel

  • Perfect for warm climates

  • Characteristic style

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Cashmere (WS)

Cashmere is one of the more expensive and luxurious types of wool. The name comes from the Kashmir region of India, near the Himalayas, where the furry goats that supply cashmere wool originate. The fur of a cashmere goat consists of an unusually fine undercoat that helps the animal withstand intense cold. The under hairs are separated from the coarser guard hairs and sorted by colour once a year, making the yield per goat very low and very valuable. A suit made with this fabric will be as warm as it is soft, light and lustrous.

Pros

  • Exceptionally soft and luxurious feel

  • Superior insulating qualities

  • Perfect for cold climates

What is Mohair?

The perfect material to use in tuxedos. The origin of the mohair fiber begins in the mountain regions of Turkey, where the Angora goat roams. Thought to be a descendant of the cashmere goat, the Angora goat fibers differ in several ways due to its natural habitat, creating a much sought after fleece that creates unique properties when woven into suiting material.

When the mohair fiber is spun in the worsted variety, it gives the fabric a springy and crisp hand that has amazing ‘bounce-back’ (extremely wrinkle and crease resistant). Additionally the fiber has a natural sheen and stretch which is great for ceremonies and traveling/dancing.

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Mohair (WM)

Mohair is the hair of the Angora goat, nicknamed ‘diamond fibre’ because of its unique lustre. The goats are shorn twice each year for their long, silky and lightly curled hairs, with the best quality sourced from Texas, South Africa and Turkey. The coat of the Angora goat has temperature-regulating properties, making mohair fabric great for keeping warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

Pros

  • Exceptionally silky and lustrous feel

  • Temperature regulating

  • Can be worn in all climates

Kid Mohair

Similar to other luxury fibers, mohair fibers are limited in availability. For one, an Angora goat cannot be sheared after 8 years old, as the hairs are too coarse to use. Even more rare is the “kid mohair” fiber, which comes from the first shearing of an Angora goat. This fleece is softer and therefore more expensive as well. 

Varying levels of cashmere quality?

The journey of a cashmere coat begins in the innermost regions of Mongolia where Capra hircus goat roams with its luxuriously soft fleece. 

The fleece has two parts: an outer coat and an under coat, but the shearing of the undercoat provides the textile fiber we know as cashmere. Each spring, the goats will naturally shed their fleece and herders comb the under fleece to send it into production. 

The production process is elaborate and time consuming. At the raw material level, the fibers must be sorted. The thinner and longer fibers are more precious and desirable. They’re stronger, more insulating and softer — and more rare. In the production of its cashmere, Loro Piana uses strict quality control measures to ensure the best quality fibers end up in its line of fabrics and meet the highest standards. 

Not all cashmere is created equal. Cheap cashmere made of shorter fibers will often be blended and pile easier. The highest quality cashmere starts actually a bit stiff and over some time softens but does not “break” and come undone. 

Cashmere can also be blended with other fibers to change the final fabric’s properties. When blended with worsted wools, it can add warmth and softness to a suiting fabric. When just 5-10% is added to a flannel, it can lighten up the weight while increasing its insulating abilities. 

At Hall Madden, we offer a wide range of Loro Piana cashmere fabrics to our clients in the form of blazers and winter suiting, through their permanent and seasonal collections as well as their Zenit range.   

 Vicuña Fabric: History and Conservation

The finest fiber in the world can be found only in the Andes on the fleece of the vicuña — a camelid creature whose history in textiles includes the robes of emperors. Long sought after for its ultra-fine and ultra-soft fleece since the time of the Incas, the vicuña continues to capture the imagination of those interested in this unique fiber. 

Often known as the most expensive fiber in the world, its price comes from its rarity. The vicuña is only found in Peru, Argentina and Bolivia in very scarce numbers. Due to high demand, poachers hunted the vicuña to near extinction in the 1960s until conservation measures were taken when the population reached a low of 5,000. 

Unlike wool fleeces sheared from sheep, the vicuña cannot be bred and kept in captivity. The vicuña must be allowed to roam freely for its fleece to grow properly and for it to live a healthy life. Additionally, a vicuña can only be sheared once ever 2 years and can only be sheared 5 times in its entire lifespan. Each shearing produces approximately 1 lb. of fleece. In comparison, sheep can be sheared for their fleece multiple times a year and produce up to 30 lbs. of wool. 

The fleece of the vicuña is an exceptional result of its diet and environment. Each fiber measures around 12 microns in diameter. Even the finest goat cashmere and sheep wool tends to measure 14-19 microns. For comparison, a human hair measures 60 microns. This ultra-fine fiber is hollow and has scales on the exterior, which in turn traps air and creates an insulating effect. The thinness also is what gives the finished woven fabric its soft hand feel. A pound of vicuña can cost up to $600, versus $6 for wool. 

In 1984, Loro Piana sought to help with the conservation efforts of the vicuña through the official channels of the Peruvian and Argentinean governments. By partnering with anti-poaching groups, government conservationists, and native communities, Loro Piana has been able to ensure not just a source for vicuña fleece but also the re-populating of the vicuña. 

Since the vicuña roams freely, the humane and cruelty free capture and shearing process involves hundreds of people to encircle and corral the animal in a ritualistic practice that ends with the releasing of the vicuña back into the wild. 

The vicuña fleece is available from Hall Madden in several iterations from Loro Piana as blazers and overcoats, blended with cashmere or silk. Prices and swatches available by request and by appointment only.