Where does Mohair come from?

Mohair comes from Turkey, Anatolia, where it dates to Antiquity.

Plate No. 110fabric

The lustrous, light-reflecting hair of the Angora goat.

First documented: Antiquity
Origin: Anatolia, Turkey
Fiber: mohair
Weave: woven from Angora goat hair
Family: twills

Plate No. 110 · fabric

Mohair

Mohair is the lustrous hair of the Angora goat, a long, smooth, resilient fiber that takes dye brilliantly and reflects light like silk, quite unlike the matte crimp of sheep's wool. Spun and woven, it makes crisp, springy, shiny cloth that resists crushing and wrinkling, which sent it into summer suits, the sharkskin-bright mohair suits of the 1960s mods, theater costumes, and hard-wearing upholstery. Its name shares a root with moire, and centuries of Anatolian monopoly on the Angora goat made mohair a guarded Ottoman trade good.

Illustration: a flock of Angora goats with long lustrous white coats on the dry Anatolian plateau near Ankara in the late 1800s, a herder as a small distant figure with a staff, low stone walls and parched hills, strong clear light — A flock of Angora goats with long lustrous white coats on the dry Anatolian plateau near Ankara in the late 1800s, a herder as a small distant figure with a staff, low stone walls and parched hills, strong clear light.

Named for

From the Arabic mukhayyar, choice or select cloth; the same word, by a long detour, also gave English moire.

Common questions

What is Mohair made of?: Mohair is the lustrous hair of the Angora goat, a long, smooth, resilient fiber that takes dye brilliantly and reflects light like silk, quite unlike the matte crimp of sheep's wool.
Where does Mohair come from?: Mohair comes from Turkey, Anatolia, where it dates to Antiquity.
What is Mohair named after?: From the Arabic mukhayyar, choice or select cloth; the same word, by a long detour, also gave English moire.