INTRODUCTION
Pringle of Scotland is synonymous with cashmere.
Although it was used in the production of undergarments from early in our history, cashmere became an integral and iconic part of the brand after the Second World War. At one point we were exporting so many cashmere garments to the United States that the company was worried about running out of raw materials!
Pringle of Scotland was one of the first manufacturers to use cashmere for knitted garments, and our cashmere jumpers and cardigans have been worn by British (and Hollywood) royalty. A cashmere twinset starred on the cover of Vogue in 1955, and Princess Grace of Monaco was such a fan of our cashmere knitwear that she was often photographed wearing it.
We source only the finest fibres and use Scottish spun yarn for our signature and seasonal cashmere pieces. We are proud to make our cashmere garments in Scotland, the home and heart of our brand.
Our cashmere knitwear is offered in a spectrum of colours and gauges, developed and refined over the decades to produce iconic signatures that wear and age beautifully. We carefully select our knitting tension to achieve the traditional Pringle of Scotland hand –one that allows the garment to mature and soften as it is worn and cared for over time.
What is cashmere?
Cashmere is from the hair of the Cashmere goat, native to Kashmir in Northwest India, Inner Mongolia, Turkestan, Iran, Iraq and China. The fibre is harsh to the hand in its raw state. It is only after we have knitted it in the perfect tension and washed in the pure, clear, beautiful Scottish water that it becomes very soft.
The goats are found in the highest mountain ranges – an important point as the mountain territory’s temperature extremes are critical to the quality of fibre. The Cashmere mountain goat is one of very few animals that can survive in this environment, and the conditions mean that the goat produces the finest yet strongest hair fibres of any animal. A Cashmere goat is never shorn – the fleece is combed out by hand. The fleece must then be separated from the coarser “guard hair” and so the resulting yield per goat is very small, which contributes to the global opinion of cashmere as a precious and luxury fibre.