Terroir is the French term used in wine-making to describe the unique combination of soil, climate and sunlight that defines a bottle’s taste – one that’s entirely unique to a singular patch of ground, and unable to be replicated anywhere else in the world. It speaks to perhaps the truest marker of luxury, the knowledge of exactly where the things you purchase come from, all the way back to a single maker’s hand – whether that’s a glass of Champagne or a ceramic pot, a piece of furniture, or an haute couture gown.
It is something that the Italian fashion house Loro Piana – still best known for its work in the noble fibre of cashmere – knows all too well. Its history can be traced back to the early 1800s, when the Loro Piana family first began trading wool in Trivero, northern Italy, and the idea of origin has remained at its heart ever since: whether the rich, long-fibre cashmere of Mongolia or the finest merinos from sheep in Australia and New Zealand. In March 2023, the latter – a fibre they call ‘the gift of kings’ – was part of a launch whereby shoppers could follow the journey of a garment from field to factory to store using technology powered by the Aura Blockchain Consortium.
