Silk is rarely knitted alone in luxury knitwear, but as a blend partner it transforms cashmere and cotton: a cashmere-silk yarn is lighter, more lustrous and holds its shape better than pure cashmere. Silk-cotton and silk-linen knits form the backbone of the summer collections of many Italian houses.
What makes silk & silk blends luxury quality
- Blend ratio: cashmere-silk blends are commonly 70/30 or 55/45; more silk means more drape and less loft.
- Mulberry silk: the finest, most uniform silk, used by the best spinners.
- Hand: silk blends should feel cool and smooth, with a subtle sheen, never slippery or plastic-like.
Care
Hand-wash cool or dry clean; avoid wringing; dry flat out of direct sun. See the full care guide.
Houses working in silk & silk blends
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Begg x Co
$$$$Ayrshire cashmere house famed for scarves, now with fully-fashioned cashmere knitwear
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Brunello Cucinelli
$$$$Coloured cashmere knitwear made in a restored Umbrian hamlet — the definition of quiet luxury
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Cruciani
$$$Ultrafine Umbrian cashmere with unusual washes and technical finishes
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evam eva
$$Quiet, natural-fibre Japanese knitwear designed, made and sold in-house by a Yamanashi mill
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Falconeri
$$Accessibly priced Italian cashmere sold through its own retail chain
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Fedeli
$$$Family-run Monza cashmere house, from hatmaker in 1934 to knitwear with Zegna and Prada as shareholders
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Gran Sasso
$$Vertically integrated Abruzzese mill, the value benchmark for extra-fine merino
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Inis Meáin
$$$Luxury reinterpretations of Aran island knitwear, made on Inis Meáin since 1976
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Kiton
$$$$Vicuña and 14-micron cashmere knitwear from a Neapolitan house that owns its own mill
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Kuna
$$$Baby, royal and suri alpaca and vicuña from Peru's vertically integrated Grupo Inca
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Loro Piana
$$$$Baby cashmere and vicuña knitwear from the world's leading rare-fibre house
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French fine-gauge knitwear and the lustrous proprietary Fil Lumière yarn, six generations of family ownership
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Malo
$$$$Florentine pure-cashmere label known for an exceptionally soft hand, relaunched in 2025
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Fair-trade hand-dyed yarns and hand-knit garments from rural Uruguayan artisan cooperatives
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Oleana
$$$Patterned Norwegian cardigans in merino, silk and alpaca, made in the brand's own factory near Bergen
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Heritage Borders house behind the Argyle jumper and the twinset
Silk & silk blends: frequently asked questions
Is a cashmere-silk blend better than pure cashmere?
Cashmere-silk is not better, but it is different: lighter, cooler, with more sheen and better shape retention, which suits spring and summer knits and fine-gauge cardigans. For winter warmth, pure cashmere remains the choice.
Which brands make the best silk & silk blends knitwear?
Houses in this index specialising in silk & silk blends include Begg x Co, Brunello Cucinelli, Cruciani, evam eva, Falconeri, Fedeli, Gran Sasso and Inis Meáin and 8 more. Judge any of them on fibre grade, gauge, construction and finishing rather than name alone.