Ever wondered why certain garments are so expensive? It depends on the prominence of the name and the level of creativity of the designer, but mostly the answer lies in the fabrics.
Their quality and comfort are unmatched. Not to mention the fact that they are produced by some of the world's largest manufacturers, which also affects the pricing policy.
Want to know about the most luxurious and expensive fabrics in the world? We will tell and show everything.
10. Japanese denim
Regular denim is not a very expensive type of fabric, but its Japanese variety is something special. She enjoys a high reputation among denim aficionados due to several factors:
- high quality raw materials from long staple cotton. There are also such exotic raw materials as a mixture of cotton and sugarcane, cotton and hibiscus, cotton and bamboo.
- Natural indigo dyeing. Synthetic indigo is also used, this allows to reduce the cost of production.
- Using vintage machines that run at low speeds. This increases the strength and durability of the fabric.
- Thorough anti-shrink, mechanical and chemical post-processing of the finished product.
The improved version of Japanese denim is being bought by brands such as Louis Vuitton and Gucci. And the price of expensive trousers made from this type of fabric (for example G001-T Gold Label Momotaro) can go up to $ 2,000.
9. Burmese silk from lotus flowers
Lotus silk (or kyar chi), originally from Myanmar, is an extremely rare and soft fabric created by accident. Legend has it that a century ago a girl picked a lotus flower to present to a monk. But then she noticed a strand of thread where the stem was cut off, and weaved it into clothes for her beloved monk.
The process of making lotus fiber is long and tedious and only done by hand. The production of 1 kilogram of yarn requires tens of thousands of lotus stems. Therefore, kyar-chi is one of the rarest and most expensive fabrics in the world. For example, a Burmese silk scarf costs between $ 100 and $ 120 if you buy it right at the factory.
8. Mulberry silk
This is a real elite in the world of silk, fabric of the highest quality and the corresponding price. Mulberry silk is harvested by hand, from silkworm cocoons, which are grown on specialized farms, with controlled temperature and humidity, and the larvae are served exclusively mulberry leaves for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
When processing silk, no chemicals are used, so all the properties of the material are preserved in full. The resulting fabric is hypoallergenic and extremely uniform in texture and color.
One meter of Mulberry silk costs about $ 100, which makes it very expensive compared to other silk fabrics.
7. Cervelt brand fabric
The material obtained from the wool of the New Zealand red deer is known as Cervelt - the fabric is soft like cashmere, but very rare, as one animal can only get 20 grams of fluff per year.
To get a sense of its rarity and exclusivity, know that in 2014 Harry's of London offered a limited edition of 100 cervelt socks. Each pair cost $ 1,500.
6. Cloth with diamond grit
In 2001, the textile factory Scabal presented a unique fabric consisting of microcrystalline diamond chips mixed with merino wool and silk.
The factory's designers have also created many other expensive fabrics, including 24-karat gold, platinum and lapis lazuli. The technology of creating a miracle called the Diamond Chip remains a mystery, but the cost of products from it is not a secret. In 2011, a two-piece suit made of "diamond" material was asked for £ 7,000. Now the price should be even higher.
5. Baby Cashmere
Cashmere has always been a favorite of many celebrities and most influential people in the world... It is not for nothing that it is called “soft gold”. Making yarn from the undercoat of cashmere goats and then fabric from that yarn takes time and patience.
There are several different types of cashmere. The most exclusive is baby cashmere, produced in Mongolia and northern China, from the undercoat of kids up to 1 year old. Each kid can give no more than 30-40 grams of material, and since the undercoat grows slowly and is needed to protect it from the cold, it will not be possible to trim the animal for the second time in a year.
The result is a very fine fiber and the end product is 20 percent softer than regular cashmere.
4. Shakhtush
Shakhtush from Nepal and India is a fabric woven from the down of a Tibetan antelope (chiru). The delightfully warm and soft material is considered the king of fine wool and is therefore used in luxurious shawls, which cost up to $ 5,000.
Shawls are weaved only by the master weavers of Kashmir, known to be the only ones who can handle it. They create products so light and soft that they can be passed through a ring.
The downside to the high cost of this fabric is that chiru are endangered, mainly due to poachers. One shawl requires wool from 2 to 5 animals, depending on the size of the product.
3. Guanaco
This elite fabric is obtained from the wool of the representatives of the camel family of the same name living in South America.
These animals prefer a Spartan way of life - in the cold wind, in the harsh mountain conditions. Therefore, their coat is surprisingly warm, and at the same time soft and delicate to the touch.
From one adult animal, you can get no more than 1200 grams of wool. Because of this, as well as due to the lack of animals, and the laborious process of separating the coarse guard hair from the downy undercoat, guanaco fabric is very expensive. For example, a women's long jacket can sell for between $ 25,000 and $ 35,000.
2. Vicuña
Vicuñas are the smallest and most graceful members of the camelid family, and their thin and silky coat is warm enough to allow them to live in the mountains at a frosty 5,000 meters in the Peruvian Andes.
Captive vicuñas literally starve themselves, so Peruvian law requires them to stay wild. Of course, with the exception of those cases when they are driven into corrals in order to cut off part of the wool (all is impossible, otherwise the animal will die from the cold).
Vicuña is not only the lightest and warmest fabric in the world, but also one of the most expensive. The cost of one vicuna coat is over $ 50,000, and a scarf made from this material will cost about $ 4,000. Only very rich people can afford such a luxury. For example, Prince Charles has been sporting a vicuna coat in public since 2001.
It is also the finest natural fabric in the world - each hair is only 12 microns in diameter. For comparison, a human hair is about 50 microns in diameter, and a merino wool is about 24 microns.
Only the undercoat is suitable for making fabric, and the guard hair must be removed manually. This is a rather laborious process, which also affects the cost of the fabric.
After cleaning, out of 250 grams of wool, only 120 grams remains. And if cleaned by machine, then only 60 grams.To make a small scarf, it is enough to cut one animal, but if you need a coat, then in an impromptu "barbershop" you need to drive from 25 to 30 vicunas.
The unique softness, lightness, warmth and creamy texture of this material, as well as the complexity of its preparation, ensures that vicuña will remain the second most expensive fabric in the world for a long time.
1. Spider web fabric: the most expensive in the world
In 2009, a unique piece was exhibited at the American Museum of Natural History in New York - a cape dress made entirely from the threads of orb-weaving spiders.
It was the result of a joint project by Simon Pearce, a British textile art historian, and Nicholas Godley, his American business partner. The work took five years to complete and cost over £ 300,000 (approximately $ 395,820).
The spiders that Pierce and Godley used to make their fabric are known as Nephila inaurata. Only females of this species produce silk, which is woven into webs. An interesting feature: the web of round strands glows in the sun.
It took a million spiders to make one dress, as well as 80 people that Pierce and Godley hired as an assistant. The result of their joint efforts was the world's only thinnest and lightest golden dress made of spider silk. It is currently in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, valued at $ 500,000, and is not for sale.