Vicuña is the finest, softest and most exclusive natural fiber in the world, considerably finer, silky and lighter than Cashmere or Angora.

The Vicuna, an elegant animal living at 5000 meters/ 15,000 feet above sea level in the highlands of South American Andes. The Vicuna is shorn every two years to produce an unsurpassed soft and light fiber. The ancient Incas considered the Vicuna a sacred animal. The Chaccu is a traditional ceremony handed down from the Incas. Every four years the Inca King would order the Chaccu, the rounding up of the Vicuña to be sheared and then released unharmed. Only the Inca royalty, the elite, wore the golden fleece produced from the Vicuna. Steeped in tradition the Chaccu continues today in the Andean communities monitored by strict guidelines of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species . The Vicuna population has now significantly increased to more than 160,000 animals, living protected in national reserves. This is why every Vicuna item you purchase from AlpaLuxe comes to you with its own individually signed and registered certificate of authenticity from Peru, adding to its exclusivity.