By Malene Birger 'Homespun' is an exercise in luxury knitwear and radical transparency
Order one of By Malene Birger’s decadent, on-demand alpaca sweaters and you’ll know exactly where it came from. Yes, you’ll know that the raw material came from a charming alpaca farm just outside of Copenhagen. You’ll know that the wool has been hand-cut in Denmark and spun into yarn in Sweden. You’ll also know that it was hand-knit by a Danish knitter, on her free time, in about three to five working days.
But you’ll also know the name of the alpaca from which the sweater originated. Perhaps it was Shelby or Antigua, or maybe Sandy or Fabulous. It will often be the untreated fur of two alpacas, woven together into a melange.
Available to order at the brand’s own stores and online from September 23rd, By Malene Birger 'Homespun' not only yields covetable, impossibly soft knitwear, it is also an exercise in radical transparency. So many brands boast sustainability, but how often can you actually trace an item back to its source – in this case, its specific alpaca?
When Maja Dixdotter, By Malene Birger’s Creative Director, started her irresistible alpaca project, she was not exactly an expert on the animal. “I love to work with alpaca fibres, because they’re so soft and cozy,” she says. “But, to be honest, I did not really expect them to look like that.” After taking the trip “out of town, out to the nature” and meeting the animals face to face for the very first time, she was instantly smitten. “They look quite funny, I would say. They are so cute.”
Meet the alpacas .
To make matters more lovely, Dixdotter notes that the woman who owns the alpaca farm initially acquired the creatures as pets. “She talked about them like they were really her kids,” she says, noting that in addition to having names, each alpaca has a distinct look and personality. They’re shaved just once a year, “when they’re really fluffy.” Dixdotter and her team were so instantly charmed by the scene on the farm that they laid claim to the wool sourced from nine alpacas for one year.
As for the garments themselves, there is both a sweater and a vest on offer. The former boasts balloon sleeves and the later is ideally shrunken, with emphasised shoulders. Both are moderately chunky, with a rib effect. The sort of knitwear that begs to be touched. “Since it’s hand-knitted, I wanted it to look hand-knitted,” says Dixdotter. “It takes quite a lot of yarn, actually – more than you could believe.”
The project has opened up Dixdotter’s eyes to the possibility of more localised production and more items with a handcrafted touch. Perhaps there are other farmers and craftswomen waiting to be found on the Danish countryside. Until then, once this year’s “harvest” of alpaca wool is all used up, she’ll have to wait patiently until Shelby, Antigua, Sandy and Fabulous have grown out their fur once more. “We’ve already asked to book them next year as well,” she says.