Butonthisdayinthemerry
monthofMay—murmurings
ofa potentialsandstorm
notwithstanding—theweather
wasrelativelymild,andsunshine
gildedtheherder’sthatchedroofina waythatpleased
Jacquet.Laterthatnight,thecrewcelebratedwitha
bonfireattheirbasecamp,thewrappartyculminatingwith
fireworksbloomingoverdarkdesertsands—adream-like
juxtaposition;a mirageinversed.
About 24 hourslater,wewereinBeijing,analternate
universeofweepinggreyskiesandforbiddingskyscrapers.
It wastimetointerviewJacquetina hotelsuite.Best
knownfordirectingtheOscar-winning 2005 documentary
MarchofthePenguins, Jacquetis a gentlegiantofa man,
speakingwitha thoughtfulnessthatis punctuatedby
glimmersofmischievoushumour.“Ihavea problemwith
thesegoats,”herepliedwhenI askedwhatit wasliketo
filmtheseanimals.“Ifindthempenguin-like.”
It wasa funny-soundingpronouncementatfirstblush,
buthewasactuallybeingperfectlyserious.Whathemeant
wasthis:likepenguins,thesegoatsareanimalsthatmost
peopletendtoviewasadorable,evenmundane,whenin
fact,theyaresimplyextraordinary.
“Theseareamazingcreaturesthathaveadaptedtoone
oftheharshestclimatesintheworld,”saidJacquet.“Iwant
tohelppeopleseethemthewaytheymightseeanelephant
ora tiger.Wehavetoexplainwhytheyarespecial,how
thecashmerefibreshelpthemtosurvive,andshowtheir
connectionwiththelandscapeandtheherders.Thegoats
cannot survive without these communities, and the same
is trueviceversa. Telling this story is a big challenge,”
saidJacquet.ConnectionwithNature
Craftingsuchstorieshasbeenhislife’swork.Asa child,he
spentmostofhistimeobservingnatureatcloserange,in
theFrenchcountrysideandonhisgrandparents’smallfarm.
Atuniversity,hedecidedtostudybehaviouralecology,
specialisingintherelationshipbetweenlivingbeingsand
extremeenvironments.In1992,whenhewas24,hespent
14 monthsworkingina scientific monitoringstationin
Antarctica—anexperiencethatchangedhislife.
Atthisstation,hehadworkedalongsidepeoplewith
differentskillsets,notallofwhichwerescience-related,
andJacquetfoundthathewasabletohelpthembetter
understandthemeaningoftheanimalbehaviourthatthey
werewitnessing.“IrealisedI couldhelppeopletolearn
more,tobeconnectedtonature.”Suddenly,“sciencealone
wasnotenoughforme”,herecalled.Jacquetdecidedto
becomea film-maker,andthatearlyhungertosparkan
emotionalconnectionbetweenpeopleandthenatural
worldstilldriveshim.
Hisfervourforextremeenvironmentsalsoremains
undimmed.Besidesthephysicalchallenge,arduous
conditionsalsoreveala person’struecharacter.“Youmust
bewhoyouare,youcannotpretendtobesomeoneelse,”
hesaidwitha knowingsmile.“Ilikethat.”
Allthesepassionswereinplayforthiscashmereproject
withLoroPiana.Hehadalwaysdreamedofexploring
Mongolia,andtherealityofitssingularlandscapesfar
exceeded his expectations. In the desert, “the light changesNATURALSELECTION
In 2015,LoroPianalauncheditsannualCashmereof theYearAward.HerdersthroughoutInnerMongoliaand
otherChineseregionscompetein thiscontest,submittingcashmerefibresto bejudgedonfineness,lengthand
performance.Thewinnersareinvitedto anawardceremonyandreceivea cashprize.Besideshelpingthebrand
to nurturestrongrelationshipswithherders,thesubmittedfibresaresubjectedto a detailedlaboratoryanalysis
thatyieldsveryusefuldata.FibresfromherdersusingtheLoroPianaMethod,forinstance,haveshownan
impressiveimprovementin quality.Thedata also gives the brand a clear idea of the kind and quality of cashmere
fi bres available in diff erent territories.Besidesbeing
adorable,the
cashmeregoats
of Mongolia
andInner
Mongoliaare
alsoamazingly
resilient
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