VICUNA

South America

For the ancient Inca population, the "fibre of the gods" was intended purely for kings. Impalpable as a cloud yet extremely warm, no one else could possess it due to its very rare and soft fibres. This is how the story of vicuña begins, in a time long ago and filled with legend, when the vicuñas with their large and mysterious eyes grazed freely on the highlands of the Andes.

Vicuña fibre comes from a small member of the camel family, closely related to camels, alpacas and llamas, that lives wild in the Andes at an altitude of over 4,000 metres. To survive the harsh winters and scorching summers, the vicuñas have in fact developed an underfleecea very fine fibre - the fibre that measures, on average, only 12.5 microns in diameter - with a characteristically golden hue composed of extremely thin, short and very dense fibres, which perform an extraordinary thermoregulating function.

Safeguarding the Vicuña

Loro Piana’s relationship with the Vicuña is celebrated as an international exemplar in endangered species conservation.

During the 20th century, the Vicuña population was approaching extinction due to poachers hunting the animal for its prized fleece. Recognising the severity of this crisis, in 1994, Loro Piana, head of a consortium, signed an agreement with the Peruvian government and the Andean communities, granting the exclusive rights to purchase, process and distribute the fibre obtained only from vicuñas sheared whilst alive according to CITES regulations along the whole supply chan. Loro Piana’s commitment was renewed in 2008, with the creation of the first private nature reserve in Peru, named after Franco Loro Piana.

The Water Project

Rising temperatures are causing increased water scarcity and drought, especially in the Andean highlands. This reduces grasslands and forage pasture for vicuñas to graze on, threatening their health and survival, as well as forcing unnatural patterns of migration.

To face this situation, Loro Piana launched the Water Project in the Arequipa region of Peru in 2018. The project has a double objective: to increase water availability in the area and to support local communities by increasing their livelihoods. Therefore, the maison constructed several basins for rainwater collection, equipped with a waterproof membrane and irrigation canals to channel water to the surrounding areas.