When you spend years designing knitwear, your eye begins to change.
You start noticing small things most people would never look for — the fibre, the tension of the knit, the construction, the way the piece moves on the body.
But the first thing I always notice is the fibre.
With cashmere, the quality often reveals itself immediately to a trained eye. In the surface of the knit, the softness of the halo, and the way the yarn settles into the garment. Good cashmere has a quiet richness to it, something you can sense even before touching it.
Everything begins there.
When the fibre is right, the garment behaves differently. It holds its shape while remaining soft, it moves naturally with the body, and it develops character over time rather than wearing out.
This is the lens I design through at Castanea.
Every sweater begins with the fibre itself — selecting cashmere with depth, softness, and integrity. Because when the fibre is right, everything that follows becomes easier: the movement, the drape, the way the garment lives with you.
Good knitwear doesn’t need to shout.
You recognise it immediately.
Warmest,
Paula
