Founded by designer Paula Marron in 2017, Castanea is a luxury cashmere label inspired by and designed for independent women with a modern style sensibility who enjoy clothes that are practical but provocative. The brand’s signature pieces are contemporary but feminine, with innovative design details and unique silhouettes that offer ease and comfort, but with a fresh sophistication. 

Castanea cashmere is lovingly designed in Dublin and meticulously hand-knit in a small, family-run factory in Nepal, where not an ounce of yarn is wasted in this sartorial labour of love. The Nepalese family is as much a custodian of the brand as its Irish founder, having forged a deep friendship with the designer over the past several years. Together, they have worked to produce a luxury product that reflects their values of mindfulness, gratitude and self care. 

These values are embodied in every aspect of the Castanea brand. The name itself has a relevance and resonance deeper than its lyrical, lullaby tones. Marron is the Spanish word for chestnut, which in Latin translates as Castanea. Chestnuts symbolise the beginning of cashmere season and with it, the sensory explosion of colour and texture which autumn provokes and which is reflected in every Castanea garment. The chestnut itself, with its soft, sweet core wrapped in a protective outer shell, could be an analogy of the Castanea woman, who envelops herself in the finest quality cashmere to not only protect herself from the elements, but so that what she wears reflects how much she cares – about slow fashion, mindful shopping and respecting mind and body. 

High-quality clothes created with care can be a form of self love. Made from the finest grade of cashmere sourced from fully sustainable and ethical mills in Europe, Castanea garments are designed with an assiduous attention to detail – a process that can take up to two years – and every garment must pass through the hands of at least 20 experienced knitters before it is completed. Using cashmere of such high quality means that the final garments generate very little pilling. There is love and respect threaded through every fibre of each piece of Castanea cashmere, and this is what you’re buying into when you invest in a garment from this slow fashion brand. 

The Castanea customer understands that loving yourself means looking after yourself, and that wearing a piece of uncompromising luxury like a Castanea sweater will help any woman to feel her strongest, most confident and authentic self.