Vicuña wool: The luxury fibre once favoured by royalty

The vicuña, a wild relative of the llama found in the high-altitude Andes mountains of South America, produces wool of extraordinary fineness and softness that has captivated the world's wealthiest for generations. Historically, garments woven from vicuña fibre were the exclusive preserve of royalty and the aristocracy, who valued the material for its unparalleled quality and rarity.

The animal's fleece is remarkably fine, with individual fibres measuring just 12 to 15 microns in diameter—finer than cashmere and comparable only to the rarest luxury fibres. This exceptional fineness, combined with the vicuña's natural warmth and lightweight properties, has established vicuña wool as one of the most coveted textiles in the luxury market.

Vicuñas inhabit the high Andean plateaus at elevations between 7,500 and 13,000 feet, where the harsh climate conditions are believed to contribute to the superior quality of their wool. The animals are notoriously difficult to domesticate, and their fleece can only be harvested from wild or semi-wild populations, further limiting supply and driving up costs.

Today, vicuña wool remains prohibitively expensive for most consumers, with garments often commanding four-figure prices. International trade in vicuña wool is strictly regulated under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) to ensure the species' survival, though populations have recovered since conservation efforts began in the 1970s.