What it is
Vicuñas are wild animals. Their fleece, therefore, cannot be produced using conventional regulated farming the way cashmere goats and their fleece can. In the Andes, communities use capture-and-shear systems derived from the ancient chaccu, a traditional practice. Communities gather wild animals to remove suitable fleece, then release the vicuñas back into their natural habitat.
Piacenza has established direct relationships with the Andean communities that make up this supply chain. Vicuña fibre selection occurs in southern Peru, particularly around Arequipa and Ayacucho, and a presence is maintained within the region for quality control. This practice supports traceability and animal welfare, and ensures the appropriate conditions for the “campesinos” in charge of the vicuñas are also upheld. With a material this scarce, value is derived from the fibre’s origin and collection within the supply chain, making those details part of its price and quality proposition.
12-micron vicuña is incredibly unforgiving. The processes used to clean, prepare, spin, weave, knit, wash, and finish it after collection and transport back to Italy must preserve its fineness. Without careful handling, the natural qualities of the raw material will be diminished, or even destroyed. Processing these fine fibres is one place where Piacenza really shines, resulting in pure vicuña fabrics at radically different weights and constructions. They have lightweight 280g jacket cloth, 350g jacketing, and more substantial 420–470g pure vicuña overcoatings. It also mixes the fibre into blends with silk and wool. Piacenza is exceptionally skilled in working with it, from both the selection process to how the fibre is worked by hand and teasel-finished at their mill Biella.
