We followed one clip of wool from the farm to the rail, and photographed it wherever it changed hands.
Six pairs of hands
- The farm, in April, where it is still on the animal.
- The scourer, where four months of hillside comes out of it.
- The spinner in Biella, where it becomes yarn and stops being wool.
- The mill, where it becomes cloth and stops being yarn.
- The cutter, where it stops being cloth.
- The machinist, where it becomes a coat.
Why anyone should care
Because the price makes sense once you have seen it, and not before. A coat that costs what this one costs is either six skilled jobs or a marketing budget, and from the outside the two look the same.