Chanel buys Hawick cashmere mill Barrie

Luxury goods firm Chanel has bought the Barrie Knitwear cashmere mill in the Scottish Borders, following the collapse of owner Dawson International.

Chanel said the company's current management would stay in place.

Barrie Knitwear was a trading division of Dawson International, which was placed in administration in August because of the size of its pension liabilities.Chanel did not disclose how much it paid for the Barrie Knitwear business and its assets.

Chanel fashion president Bruno Pavlovsky said: "The acquisition of Barrie business by Chanel is all the more natural as the factory has worked with us for more than 25 years, producing cashmere knitwear including Chanel's iconic two-tone cashmere cardigans.

"Through this acquisition, we reaffirm our commitment to traditional expertise and craftsmanship, and our wish to safeguard their future and support their development."

Chanel said Barrie would continue to "pursue its partnerships with all major luxury brands, with no exclusivity" and grow its own brands presence around the world.

Senior Scottish organiser Alex McLuckie said: "GMB Scotland always felt confident that this highly skilled, productive and fairly loyal workforce which produces a high quality product would be saved.

"It lifts the uncertainty for the 180 employees and we can now look forward to continuing employment for our members in the Hawick site now and into the future."

Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said Scotland's cashmere industry employed about 4,000 people and contributed almost £200m to the economy.

She added: "This acquisition reinforces Scotland's position as one of the world's leading spinners of quality cashmere yarn and strengthens Scotland's global reputation as a leader in luxury fabrics, cashmere knitwear and designer brands."

Cashmere Confidential For the season of sweater buying, some tips on how to tell the good from the bad

Buying a cashmere sweater used to be a simple thing. The wool came from the bellies of goats in India or Tibet and was spun in Scotland. Cashmere goods were generally expensive, but rare, and worth the cost. "In the old days, cashmere had a certain allure, and the allure created a certain price point," said veteran cashmere salesman Jack Bain, who has represented Pringle of Scotland and a number of Scottish woolen mills. Now, chains are selling cashmere sweaters for less than $100. According to Mr. Bain, "cashmere is generic, like a jockey short."

Many manufacturers today employ cost-saving methods that impoverish the product: using fibers of varying length, spinning the wool before it's fully dried after dyeing. A salesperson is not likely to talk about these shortcuts, and they don't have a particularly noticeable effect on how a cashmere sweater looks or feels—at least, not at first. Give an inferior cashmere sweater a few wears, though, and you'll see it starts to pill much sooner than a good one.

Meanwhile, luxury labels have found ways (adding fur trim, using baby cashmere) to up the ante. In short, the difference between good and bad cashmere has never been so pronounced. The goats of Mongolia, Iran and Afghanistan are now part of the global supply chain, and even the most respected purveyors also sell lower grades of cashmere. With price and provenance telling less and less of the story, the average retail customer buys cashmere with only a dim idea of what he's paying for.

Fortunately, there are some ways for the consumer to test a garment's quality, including its pilling potential. Stretch the fabric with your hands; if it reverts immediately to its former shape, that's good. If not, it may contain cheaper fabrics or have been knit too loosely. According to Cédric Turk, executive vice president and general manager at Zilli, an upscale French cashmere brand, the density of a cashmere garment's weave is a sign of quality. "Cheaper brands knit with more space because it takes less time and cashmere," Mr. Turk noted. Hold an expensive sweater up to the light—you shouldn't be able to see through it.

A common misconception is that softer cashmere is better, but it's not that simple. A fabric's fluff could be the result of fine fibers and spinning—or of harsh artificial softeners.

Some cashmere brands, including high-end European ones, soften up their sweaters with repeated washings. Scottish traditionalists consider this gilding the lily—and point out that it reduces the garment's lifespan. Established Scottish manufacturers such as Todd & Duncan, founded in 1867 and suppliers of yarn to Brooks Brothers and Hermès, claim that the soft, pure loch water in which they wash and dye their cashmere swells the fabric more delicately than additional washing does. Even if a four-ply Scottish sweater feels slightly coarser on the shelf than its French or Italian counterpart, the argument goes, it lasts for decades, arriving at cozy perfection around the time those fancy continental sweaters might start to pill. On the other hand, there's something to be said for that "instant, tangible feel of luxury," said premium-cashmere purveyor Brunello Cucinelli.

Although most shoppers will probably never become experts on the matter, they can examine sweaters for bubbles or so-called "chicken feet," ripples and wrinkles in a weave that appear when factories knit too fast. Or, follow Mr. Turk's advice that particularly in cashmere, established brands have the edge, if only because customers have put their product's durability to the test for decades. Cashmere, after all, should be soft but rugged, have real weight but feel light as air. And by no means must it have origins in Kashmir, the mountainous region from which it takes its name. In other words, it should discreetly defy logic. As Mr. Turk said, "That's the magic of cashmere."

—Darrell Hartman