Lama Velvet - Quiet Luxury Woven in Lama Wool

In a design landscape dominated by high-performance synthetics and endlessly rebranded “miracle” fibres, Lama Velvet by Mokum offers something far rarer: quiet luxury grounded in nature and story, not surface sheen.

Designed by the New Zealand textile house Mokum and woven in Italy, Lama Velvet is a dense, upholstery-weight velvet whose pile is composed of pure llama wool. Rather than chasing saturated, on-trend hues, the collection embraces what already exists in the landscape. The palette spans ten undyed, natural melange shades from pale, creamy “natural” through caramel and chocolate to smoke, shale and near-black tones, each one spun in the original colour of the animal’s fleece.

The decision not to dye the fibre is both aesthetic and philosophical. Undyed wool avoids an entire stage of conventional textile processing, reducing the need for chemical dyes and additional water consumption, while preserving the nuances within each natural colour. Spun as melange yarns, those subtle variations create depth and movement across the velvet’s surface, allowing Lama Velvet to feel alive rather than flat.

The story begins far from the showrooms where the fabric will ultimately live. Llamas, members of the camelid family, have roamed the Bolivian Highlands for centuries and have long held practical and spiritual importance in Andean culture, dating back to the Incan Empire. Today, millions still graze the altiplano; around three-quarters of them are naturally coloured rather than white, which allows Mokum to draw directly from this spectrum of browns, greys and charcoals.

Llama wool is not simply visually distinctive – it behaves differently, too. Each fibre has a hollow core that delivers superior thermal insulation and breathability. In warm conditions, the textile can release heat and moisture; in cooler climates, it traps warmth, creating an enveloping, cocooning feel on a chair, banquette or sofa. The fibre’s natural lustre gives Lama Velvet a gentle sheen that reads as sophisticated rather than flashy – a key note in the “quiet luxury” vocabulary.

Under the microscope, Lama Velvet is also a thoroughly modern performance textile. Llama wool’s inherent hypoallergenic and antimicrobial properties are bolstered by its ability to wick moisture away from the surface, contributing to the fabric’s resistance to water, stains and fire. Built to commercial performance standards and meeting key U.S. fire tests, Lama Velvet is durable enough for high-use seating in elevated residential and boutique hospitality spaces.  It’s also kinder behind the scenes: PFA-free and certified to OEKO-TEX® Standard 100, Lama Velvet gives designers a way to specify a richly tactile velvet that still supports health- and planet-conscious values.

Visually, Lama Velvet reads as understated, but it is anything but anonymous. On a sculptural lounge chair, the fabric’s dense pile and natural shine trace the curves of the form, catching light along edges and seams. On a generous sectional, its melange tones soften the volume and offer an instant sense of warmth and tactility. Because the palette is grounded in earth and stone, it layers easily with raw timber, veined stone, linen and wool rugs – materials that are increasingly defining the “new luxury” interior.

In an era when we’re asking not just what a product is, but how and why it exists, Lama Velvet stands out as a material with answers. Its beauty is quiet, its palette restrained, but behind that understatement lies a rich narrative of place, craft, and thoughtful innovation.  

https://www.jamesdunloptextiles.com/