Process

Wool, before it is cloth

One fleece, from a farm in the Cotswolds to the finished coat, photographed at every stage it changed hands.

Heavyweight tee in black

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.

The counter

Tuesday to Sunday, 8am to 6pm.

14 rue Sainte-Hélène, Lyon.

Closed Mondays — there is a journal entry explaining why.

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