Loro Piana Honours Cashmere Herders From Inner Mongolia in New York
Three couples of cashmere herders from Inner Mongolia, in northern China, have been honoured by Loro Piana, the Italian luxury label. The prizes were handed out at the 2025 Cashmere of the Year Award, held in New York at The Brant Foundation, an arts space.
The event was the 11th edition of the award, which Loro Piana set up in 2015. It recognises the people who raise the goats and gather their fibre, the raw material for cashmere. Winners receive a payment for each kilo of fibre they supply, along with a silver comb that stands for the gathering process. WWD reported the details.
The first prize went for 135.8 kg of greasy cashmere, the raw fibre as it comes off the animal before cleaning. Its fibre diameter measured 12.89 microns. A micron is one millionth of a metre. The second prize was for 87.1 kg at 13.01 microns, and the third for 116 kg at 13.04 microns. In the trade, a lower micron figure means a finer fibre.
The evening also unveiled "Master of Cashmere", an exhibition that traces Loro Piana's history and its know-how, meaning the skills and techniques the company has built up over time.
The award puts the people at the start of the supply chain in front of an audience that usually sees only the finished coat or sweater. The herders' work is recognised in the same room as the label's own story, and the payment ties their fibre to the price the company pays for it.
