GOLDEN FLEECE NOW IN SUITING

High up in the Andes mountains of Peru, days may be sunny and warm but night temperatures plummet to a level that would freeze the private parts of a brass monkey. So the gentle vicuna, seen here, a native of the region, is kitted out in the world’s finest, warmest and softest fleece – which of course, man has long purloined for his own purposes.

Faced with extinction of the species in the 1970s, the use of vicuna fleece was banned, though a seemingly inexhaustible supply of  “old stock” ensured that vicuna overcoats continued to be available at a high price.   Now, with vicuna numbers restored but still deemed low enough to be on the Endangered list, trade in vicuna fibre is legal once more but under strict controls to protect the animals.

So the new vicuna suiting from Scabal is ecologically acceptable and an impressive result of considerable technical ingenuity. It has not hitherto been suitable for use in suitings but by using rare long-fibred vicuna fibres that may be found, with some difficulty, in Peru, Scabal has managed to spin them into a worsted suiting – in a process that took several years to perfect.

A vicuna only produces a small amount of fleece each year and may only be shorn every three years. In Inca times, the vicuna was regarded as the reincarnation of a pretty young virgin and was never killed. The Spanish conquistadores changed that.

Now, the Peruvian government's laws aim to guarantee that the animal is captured, sheared alive, returned to the wild, and cannot be sheared again for another two years. The programme also ensures that a large portion of the profits return to villagers who oversee the flocks. However, annually up to 50,000 pounds of vicuña wool is exported as a result of illegal activities and because of this, some countries have banned the importation of the fibre in order to save the animal.

Scabal are meticulous in ensuring the fibres used in their suitings come from recognized sources. Ecological concerns were a major factor at the recent Pitti Filati exhibitions in Florence, where the world’s leading fibre houses present their seasonal collections, and will undoubtedly continue to be of growing importance in the textiles and clothing industry.

Reflecting this is another new fabric from Scabal, the Four Seasons suiting, a Super 150s wool in a 250gm weight from their Bower Roebuck mill. The wool is exclusively from sheep that graze on pastures free from chemical fertilisers or pesticides. The flocks are also limited in size, which benefits the environment as well as animal health.

The fabric, shown above in this three-button suit, is treated, with a Silver Ion technology that keeps it comfortable at any temperature, claim Scabal. It does not affect the texture or feel of the fabric and remains effective throughout the life-span of a suit.

Scabal’s vicuna suiting is available in 8 discreet designs and a suit length costs £3,800. The Four Seasons collection covers a wide variety of classics and patterns. Go to www.scabal.co.uk or call in at Scabal on Savile Row.