Pure luxury in wool and cashmere

Walking into the manufacturing facilities of Loro Piana's mill in Verrone, Italy, is like stepping into wild farmland in China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region - a place filled with bleating sheep and goats and the mixed smell of wet grass and humid soil permeating the air.

But instead of a running into a flock of animals, there are piles of raw wool and cashmere transported from farms all over the world waiting for examination, cleaning and sorting by rows of machines.

"We buy raw material directly from the farmers and do all the manufacturing, which is the only way to ensure top quality," says Pier Carlo Buscaglia, the general manager of Loro Piana's factory in Verrone.