When the long rays of sunlight begin to pierce the Canadian Arctic’s winter darkness, and the frozen tundra thaws, rambling herds of musk ox begin to show their downy undercoat. Called qiviuk (pronounced kiv-vee-uk), it’s finer than cashmere and warmer than wool. It falls naturally to the ground in soft gray clouds of gossamer-like fleece, leaving the animal’s outer guard coat. The musk ox is both a majestic and extraordinary beast, not only because of its luxurious fiber but also for its remarkable place in history.

 

By Claudia Hilbert

When the long rays of sunlight begin to pierce the Canadian Arctic’s winter darkness, and the frozen tundra thaws, rambling herds of musk ox begin to show their downy undercoat. Called qiviuk (pronounced kiv-vee-uk), it’s finer than cashmere and warmer than wool. It falls naturally to the ground in soft gray clouds of gossamer-like fleece, leaving the animal’s outer guard coat. The musk ox is both a majestic and extraordinary beast, not only because of its luxurious fiber but also for its remarkable place in history.

The musk ox story begins 600,000 years ago when millions of these short-legged, shaggy behemoths walked across the Bering Land Bridge during the last Ice Age and managed to survive an era that most animals (including the wooly mammoth) did not. The Inuvialuit, the people indigenous to the furthest reaches of Canada’s western Arctic, harvest the fine under-wool using a meticulous process that produces a silky yarn.

 

Each animal sheds fewer than five pounds of qiviuk fiber a year and roughly 50% of those fibers are lost in processing, making this one of the rarest fibers in the world. The soft fleece is warm enough to protect against cold Arctic temperature, and because the fiber is hollow, it is breathable, making it versatile and durable.

 

In 2001, Fernando Alvarez trademarked the native word for the musk ox fleece, “Qiviuk”. As a student at the University of Saskatchewan in western Canada, he’d researched how the down of a small herd of musk ox could be utilized. Coming from a textile-rich part of Peru, he immediately understood the potential of the willowy down as the perfect insulator. Bringing the product to market, however, wasn’t easy and the challenge was finding enough of it.

 

Mr. Alvarez approached the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, the native authority that governs the northern Canadian Arctic where most of the world’s musk oxen roam. In exchange for an exclusive agreement to process, manufacture, and market raw qiviuk, Alvarez would return a percentage of production-quality fiber back to the Inuvialuit people. Today, a real cottage industry in qiviuk garments has flourished in their community.

 

Qiviuk has a private label of women’s and men’s custom knitwear, as well as a home collection. It’s used by many top designers, including Hermes, Valentino, and Brioni.

On December 1, Qiviuk garments and hand-knitted accessories will be available for purchase and order at Angela’s in Rye.