ALPACA
Alpaca is the precious, soft and warm wool of the South American camelid of the same name, bred for millennia in the high Andes. The alpaca fibre is lighter, warmer and stronger than sheep's wool, contains no lanolin (so it is hypoallergenic), hardly pills and has a natural silky sheen. Alpaca comes in more than twenty natural shades — from white to deep black. It is knitted into sweaters, cardigans, hats, scarves and woven into luxurious coating fabrics that combine lightness, warmth and noble softness. Fine baby-class alpaca is especially prized. Historically this wool was sacred to the Inca peoples. Alpaca is the embodiment of natural, high-mountain luxury, in which an ancient tradition and the unique properties of the fibre give exceptional warmth and softness.
Compare “Alpaca” with another term
Meaning, origins and distinction — side by side.
Distinction
Both are luxurious natural animal fibres, warm and light. Cashmere is combed from the undercoat of mountain goats; it is extraordinarily soft, fine and airy, but less durable and prone to pilling. Alpaca is the fleece of a South American animal: the fibre is longer, stronger and hollow inside, so it insulates more, barely prickles, is hypoallergenic and pills very little. Cashmere feels more delicate, while alpaca is hardier and warmer for its weight.
