Atelier MAUDÉ — The material
Material
Material
above all.
We don't sell coats. We sell years of wear. Everything begins with the choice of fibre.
We don't sell coats. We sell years of wear. Everything begins with the choice of fibre.
At MAUDÉ, everything begins with the material — before the cut, before the silhouette. Cashmere from Inner Mongolia and wool aren't chosen because they sound good on a label, but because together they make possible the garment we want to create: structured without rigidity, soft without fragility, built to last.
Cashmere comes from the down of Capra Hircus goats raised on the high plateaux of Inner Mongolia. At this altitude, extreme temperature swings — down to –40°C in winter — push these goats to develop an undercoat of particular fineness.
Each goat produces only a very small amount of down each year. It is this rarity, combined with the quality of the fibre, that explains the value of the material.
We work with partners established in this region for decades, which lets us follow the fibre from its origin rather than buying it anonymously on a market.
The quality of a cashmere fibre is measured in microns — the unit that expresses its diameter. Ours sits at around 15 microns, three to four times finer than a human hair, which measures around 70.
That fineness isn't just a number: it's what determines the hand-feel of the cloth, its lightness, and the way it rests on the body rather than weighing on it. We work with Grade A cashmere, a selection that rules out the coarser fibres from the start.
The down is harvested by combing, not shearing — a slower gesture that preserves the fibre's natural length and is gentler on the animal.
100% cashmere is spectacular to the touch — but it is fragile: worn daily, it loses its shape quickly. Wool provides a resistance and structure that cashmere alone cannot guarantee in a coat worn season after season.
Our equal-parts blend — 50% wool, 50% Inner Mongolia cashmere — isn't a compromise between two materials, but a decision: to get the softness of one without giving up the structure of the other. What matters isn't which material sounds more luxurious on a label, but which one suits the garment we want to build.
The harvest
In spring, herders gently comb the goats' undercoat by hand. The down is then sorted, cleaned and combed to separate the longest and finest fibres — only these will enter the composition of our coats.
Spinning & weaving
The fibres are spun, dyed in carefully controlled baths, then woven with the selected wool to create our 50/50 blend. Thread tension, fabric density and final weight are checked at every stage.
The making
The fabric is then cut and sewn by our artisans in Suzhou. Each piece is individually inspected before dispatch. A MAUDÉ coat leaves the atelier only when it's ready.
Suzhou is a city where textile work has been passed down for generations. It's there that our partner ateliers spin the fibre, weave it, then cut and assemble each coat.
These three broad stages — harvest, spinning and weaving, making — actually break down into more than 40 distinct operations before a MAUDÉ coat is ready to travel. We've worked with the same ateliers from the start, in a direct relationship rather than an anonymous order.
The same material doesn't give the same silhouette depending on how it's worked. Its structure allows the ample volume of Huā Long without losing shape. Its suppleness follows the movement and verticality of Yūn Long. Its lightness makes possible the shorter, freer silhouette of Yūn Court.
Three coats, one material — worked differently each time.
MAUDÉ doesn't start with a trend and then pick a fabric. It's the other way round: the material is the starting point, and the collection stays deliberately narrow so that each piece has the time to be considered at this level of attention.
It's also why we sell direct, without intermediaries — so the value stays in the material and the making, rather than in a margin.
"We don't believe in pieces worn for two seasons. We believe in coats you never want to take off."Aude & Mathilde, founders of Atelier MAUDÉ
To care for it over time, our cashmere care guide.
See the silhouettes The House