The Search for the Perfect Cashmere Set. 2025-2026 Edition.

The other day I did a deep dive into cashmere and wool loungewear sets. You’d think this would be a very obvious winter category — but, believe it or not, it’s absolutely empty, especially when we talk about luxury.

Search request: cashmere/wool knit set.

Design: This is a tricky category, especially when it comes to trousers. By default, they add volume — everywhere. Which is why the ideal cuts are straight, flared, or cuffed at the hem. If we’re talking about thin cashmere (but please, not transparent), relaxed leggings can also work. You can play with length and with patterns as well.

There is more room for creativity when it comes to the top — it can be a crop, a relaxed silhouette, with a ribbed hem or without. What matters is balancing the proportions and making it flattering for the female figure — which, of course, varies — and the final design of the set should ultimately reflect the needs of the end consumer.

Color: Brands tend to stay in the safe zone — grey, ivory, beige. Occasionally burgundy or navy blue. And that’s pretty much it.

---

Now let’s go through the brands.

It makes sense to start with Loro Piana. There’s room to explore: different textures, colors, and designs (I can’t speak for the fit — I’ve only tried the brand a few times, without much luck). I’d probably add flared trousers to the design list — one of my favorite styles on their website. Great idea to offer interchangeable tops, as well as offering different pattern top and bottom of same color. Interestingly, the pricing sits within the general market range. Plenty of colors that feel true to the brand’s aesthetic.

Moral: the brand does an excellent job expressing its commitment to natural materials through its design language.

Technical downside: the website doesn’t show any upsell through coordinated sets, which is a missed opportunity to increase average order value. I wrote about how to do this here.

Brunello Cucinelli is another destination for cashmere sets. But in reality, there are almost none. I found only two, and one was practically ruined with a floral appliqué. In previous seasons the brand offered beige cashmere and cable-knit options, but I clearly remember the disproportionate price — around £6000 for a set. That definitely limits the audience, and frankly only seems worth it if Mr. Cucinelli himself combs the goats.

By the way, I once shared a clever hack from a friend. For many years, the brand has had a ribbed-knit set in the men’s and children’s lines — in a perfect grey and with a great fit. The same design now exists in the women’s line for £5k. But my friend is petite and 160 cm tall. So she buys the largest size in the kids’ section — the trousers fit like a dream and the price is at least half. The brand’s website, by the way, is very inconvenient and unstructured (with the same missing set-upsell issue), but that’s another story.

Then I moved on to more trend-driven brands.

Dior presented very basic models with a subtle logo (let’s ignore the pieces with large logos we all remember from past seasons). But I would love to see options with cannage-pattern inserts or some play with bouclé — the brand has many beautiful models in that technique. Instead, they chose the path of least resistance.

Next, Louis Vuitton. Having such sets would be perfectly logical for a travel-oriented brand. Yet nothing of the kind exists — just three “lazy” monochrome cashmere jumpers in the same boring colors: beige, burgundy, navy. I’m not a logo fanatic, but in some cases (especially here), a refined and inventive logo integration — not just a patch on the back — would be a huge plus. And trousers, yes. I’m honestly surprised the brand doesn’t offer this type of product — it feels so logical and harmonious for them, and easily fits within the paradigm of seasonless classics.

Hermès offers two versions of knit sets. The first comes with the brand’s embossed symbolism — no names, but those who know, know. It has at least two top options, with short and long sleeves. Possibly more, but the brand also doesn’t fully use the potential of set-upsell online. A very appealing price at £2,200 — and that’s because the material is 100% wool. This, by the way, is a strategy worth noting: offering both cashmere and wool versions for different target audiences.

In the second option, I found only trousers in three colors (including black, finally — why are there so few black sets? I hope this point gets noticed). I assume there’s a matching top as well, but it’s not shown on the website, and I didn’t want to get lost searching for it (the site’s search function is also underdeveloped).

By the way, Celine — which has been pleasantly surprising under its new creative director — has an incredibly strong top with great potential for a set. The bottoms don’t exist (yet). The pattern is somewhat reminiscent of Hermès, and note how the logo is displayed. Adding this to the collection of great ideas.

There’s also Max Mara, more of a middle category. Only two trouser colors: white and — who would have guessed, hah — burgundy. The design is actually quite interesting: a ribbed knit pattern. But again, not enough options.

And then there are the specialists. One of them is Barrie — the oldest Scottish cashmere manufacturer. Acquired by Chanel in 2012, and as we know from the motives behind such acquisitions, this one is no exception. Chanel is working toward expanding control over its supply chain, primarily serving its own production needs. That’s why I’m more than certain that the cashmere set (amazing, went straight to my wish-list) from Chanel’s cruise collection was made by Barrie.

Meanwhile, Barrie itself receives just scraps of attention — the website is clunky, and the designs seem good but lack a more contemporary visual language in communication. That said, Barrie’s set (beige with burgundy) is actually one of my favorites from this entire review.