Businesses making knitwear in the UK are now quite common, but few, like Plum of London, use Royal alpaca from South America, a fibre which exceeds cashmere in strength, warmth and softness. Plum's founder, Hugo Douglas, works closely knitting and weaving mills in England and Scotland to push the boundaries in knitwear fashion and to create sustainable and eco-friendly luxury British knitwear using ethically sourced alpaca yarn.
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| Grey Fox wears an alpaca sleeveless pullover from Plum (image Black.co.uk) |
The menswear range is still under development, but I tried a few items. The feel is of a smoothness and softness that speaks luxury and quality. The fibre is naturally light in weight and this gives the garments a misleadingly insubstantial quality which is contradicted by their warmth and comfort. Alpaca of this quality would make a superb fabric for sporting base layers and could be worn next to the skin without smelling unpleasant in the way that modern artificial base layers do.
Keep an eye on Plum of London. Their innovative, sustainable, ethical and novel approach to knitwear offers a real alternative to high end, expensive fashion brands making lower quality products outside the UK. To see their ranges for men, women, children and homeware, see Plum of London.