Shahtoosh is undeniably the most luxurious fabric present in this blue-green planet. And yes, I want you to never have one. Well, nope don’t take it personally. I want no one to own a shahtoosh ever again. Once I explain why, I bet you will also join me!
Shahtoosh is the finest type of wool. Comes from a Tibetan antilap named Chiru. It’s even finer than vicuna, baby cashmere, or any other wool in the world. But unlike other types of wool chiru’s wool can not be shredded. They must be slaughtered for their wool. To make one shahtoosh shawl, humans need to kill at least 5 chirus.
This is one of the most expensive fabric — too much to imagine without grief. It is expensive not because it may cost you $20k, but will cost 5 majestic endangered chirus lives.
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Let us take you to an amazing and kinda sad journey into the story of Shahtoosh. We will explain characteristics, history, protection steps, and the tale of the luxury of shahtoosh.
Sit back and enjoy.
What is Shahtoosh?
The word ‘shahtoosh’ means the king of wool. The name does a good job of summing up its characteristics. This is made from the fur of Tibetan antelope locally called chiru. Chirus have the finest and warmest type of wool in their belly and throat. Only 10-14% of chiru wool can be used to make a shawl or a cloth.
Chirus live in the coldest parts of Changtang region, Tibet, Xinjiang, and Qinghai regions. In these regions, the temperature can easily drop under -40%. To survive in this harsh winter, chirus evolved to grow the most wondrous fur in the animal kingdom. (we will explain the properties in the next section)
This wool was used to make shawls and scarves. It’s so expensive and rare, winter wares like sweaters was rarely made with it. It was so precious only kings and the elite could afford it. Only luxury Dhaka Muslin is compared to Shahtoosh in elegance, tradition & luxury.
Getting wool from them is not only illegal, it requires a massacre to get a profitable amount of Chiru wool. For the hunters, it’s a hard task indeed, but the reward was super high. In the last hundred years, the chirus population dropped significantly. But a glimpse of hope — With strict law enforcement and protection activities, the number of chiru is slowly bouncing back.
Characteristics and Comparisons of Shahtoosh
Shahtoosh is jaw-dropping soft. It is smooth like silk but many times warmer. It’s so delicate and light — has a cloudy flowy feel to it. It’s absolutely the most amazing fabric you can ever experience. There are two fabrics that can go through within a finger ring. One is Royal Dhaka Muslin and another is luxury Shahtoosh. It’s so unique and majestic that you can easily fool people into saying it dropped straight from heaven!
Now, the interesting part Let’s try to find out why. What makes the fabric so unique?
This is the number one finest wool in the world. It comes with a stunning 11.5 mm average width. Meanwhile, the finest shahtoosh fiber can be 6.25 mm. That is literally the limit of what nature can produce.
Shahtoosh vs Vicuna vs Cashmere
The second finest wool fabric is vicuna. Vicuna comes 12 mm in diameter. Vicuna is also a wild animal but we can harvest their wool ethically and without hurting them. So you can obviously own Vicuna with enough money. Read more on luxury Vicuna.
Baby cashmere is very fine. The undercoat of baby cashmere comes with 13.5 microns. As cashmere goats can be farmed, they are slightly less expensive (slightly). Read more on Cashmere wool guide.
But its super fine character does not explain the whole story. We have to get to the microscopic level to understand the whole mystery. Under an electron microscope, we can observe the wool by zooming 50-50 million times.
At the Microscopic level, shahtoosh wool is completely different from vicuna or cashmere. It has a scaly outlook. Every 100 micrometers, there are about 5 scales. The scales are aligned in a way that they have no rough edges. This characteristic makes it smooth like silk and different from other types of wool. Look at the images below. Vicuna and cashmere have a bit of uneven parts. That makes the difference in the feel of that wool.
History of Shahtoosh and Chiru
The history of chiru is the history of dying. They have been killed for their furs for centuries. But those animals are not easy to catch. So in the past people could not kill enough to cause serious problems in their population.
In the middle part of the last Century, the first notable mention of shahtoosh was found. Emperor Akbar was passionate about shahtoosh shawls. The name ‘shahtoosh’ was also given by Akbar. In his time this fabrics got exposure to different parts of the world( like muslin, see the history of muslin). More people were interested in shahtoosh. Leading to more deaths of wild chirus.
Still, the shahtoosh wool could not be produced enough. It was only available to royal class people. Emperor Shah Jahan made a rule that prohibited the common people from using shahtoosh.
In the 1950s, over one million chiru roamed the Tibet region. At that time, modern guns were becoming more common. So, more and more hunters were interested in hunting the high reward prey. In 1979, shahtoosh was banned in many countries, and killing chirus was prohibited. But still, smugglers and the black market kept the business going. Chirus are hunted so much that their number dropped to only 45,000 in the 2000s. However, with proper protection and application of laws, their population increased by about 150,000 in 2009.
So, if we assume all the numbers decreased because of hunting, 850,000 Chiru were killed within the time.
The Industry that was Developed in Shahtoosh
After collecting the wool from Chiru, hunters exported the wool to Kashmir, India. In Kashmir, a large industry of shahtoosh weaving was developed and remained for hundreds of years, probably from the time of Akbar. As shahtoosh was expensive, the weavers also got really handsome pay for it. Working with this wool required special skills and a lot of time. After the shahtoosh producing and hunting chorus was banned, a huge population became jobless. Still, those people and their children live a miserable life. Proper renovations and development efforts are required to help those people.
Can you get a shahtoosh?
If you are talking about newly produced shahtoosh the answer is a big ‘NO.’ This is illegal to own in Ameriaca and many parts of the world. The production has stopped, but sadly there is still some illegal production and shahtoosh trade. Buying those can cause real legal problems.
In 2017, American celebrity Martha Stewart said she always keeps an shatoosh shawl in her bag. After mass criticism and backlash, she revealed that her shawl was cashmere and not shahtoosh.
However, there is a possibility of getting an antique Santosh from some collectors. But that will cost a woo-lot of money. Well, we can not help you with any sources or something. Why? Read the title.
Future of Shahtoosh Fashion
The future of shahtoosh should be on the pages of history. It should be in museums and collections. But not a single shahtoosh should be killed for their fur. No matter how heavenly it is, no matter how luxurious it is, Muslin Dhaka is always against animal cruelty and ecological damage.
Chiru farming
You may ask, can we farm Chiru (the tibetan antelope)? Well nope. Chinese people tried to domesticate it but failed. They need very cold weather to survive and produce fine coats. So is it a dead end for the majestic shahtoosh? I believe it’s not the end here.
Maybe sometime in the future, shahtoosh like wool can be produced with genetic engineering. Maybe goats/other antelope cousin of chiru can produce this highest quality wool! May be Shahtoosh wool can be harvested without animal cruelty. Who knows But you can always hope for the best.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some of the questions people often ask about shahtoosh fashion & fabric.
Why was Shahtoosh banned?
Chirus was hunted in hundreds and thousands, which posed a real threat of extinction. To stop illegal hunting, shahtoosh was banned.
What is the difference between shahtoosh and pashmina?
Shahtoosh is finer and smoother than real pashmina. They also have differences in microscopic structure, which gives them different feel. Shahtoosh is from chiru while pashmina is harvested from pashmina goats.
Ending Thoughts
Shahtoosh, the king of wool, has fallen. But the chirus will run, roam, and live on. Isn’t that amazing? We tried to present the story of shahtoosh in a way that allows you to enjoy it in one sitting. If you are reading this, that’s our real success.
While this is unavailable, You can still enjoy vicuna and baby cashmere. Check out the best cashmere brands or the best Vicuna brands!
Shariful Alam Pavel, A fashion lover, passionate marketer. Love to share wisdom based on real life experience to enrich knowledge.
Founder of Muslin Dhaka, a brand, speaks the truth about royal muslin and fashion. Explore the digital fashion universe with organic cotton muslin and much more!
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