Cashmere Origins. A cinematic exploration of where cashmere begins.

Expertise: Brand Films / Cashmere / Productions

This project explores the origins of cashmere. A film that follows the material from its natural environment in Inner Mongolia through the first stages of transformation, observing how landscape, animals, and human labor shape its identity.

The story unfolds slowly, allowing time, silence, and presence to guide the narrative.

Commissioned by Xinao, Cashmere Origins was developed as a long-term brand film aimed at redefining how the beginnings of cashmere are communicated within a complex industrial sector.

The objective was to bring clarity, transparency, and emotional depth to the earliest stages of the supply chain, establishing a new visual language for fibers and yarns.

The film opens in the hills and deserts of Inner Mongolia, where cashmere originates. Wide landscapes are contrasted with close observations of the environment, creating a sense of scale and isolation that defines the material’s natural context.

This setting establishes origin not as a concept, but as a physical and cultural condition.

Goats are portrayed as central figures in the narrative. Unique portraits were filmed within a dedicated set developed directly in the desert, allowing proximity, stillness, and respect to define the imagery.

These moments emphasize responsibility and care at the very beginning of the process.

The story then moves to human activity. Workers and early production environments are observed with the same attention given to landscape and animals, highlighting continuity between nature and labor.

Gestures, repetition, and experience become visual markers of knowledge passed through time.

The film focuses on the initial stages of transformation. Sorting, cleaning, and preparation of fibers are presented sequentially, allowing complexity to emerge through observation rather than explanation.

Yarn appears not as an endpoint, but as the first visible result of a longer material life.

Cashmere Origins adopts a restrained cinematic language. Slow pacing, minimal sound design, and long takes allow material and process to remain central.

The first edition of the project was presented at SpinExpo Shanghai, where it was screened on a 168-meter-long LED installation, transforming material storytelling into a large-scale immersive experience.

In Europe, the film was presented during Pitti Firenze through a dedicated space in the city, aligned with the international calendar of the fair.

This project demonstrates how film can clarify complex material origins without simplifying them. By focusing on beginnings rather than outcomes, Cashmere Origins builds understanding and credibility at the foundation of the supply chain.

The result is a long-term narrative asset capable of supporting sustainability, education, and strategic communication.

Where cashmere begins.