In Rants and Raves the other day, my friend and colleague Mrs. M claimed that "there is nothing new under the sun," writes the Countess du Ruel, " except for serving snail caviar at Oxfordshire shooting lunches." Now it seems there is something new under the sun.  Hold on for it: yak hair.

We first heard about yak hair a few years ago when an upmarket pashmina came  onto the market made from hairs extracted from under the chin of the Tibetan yak. But it turned out to be made from hairs from under the chin of the Tibetan goat.  This extravagant pashmina, costing about £1,000, was banned and seems to have disappeared from the fashion emporiums.  You may remember this pashmina. It was the one which you could pull through your ring.

Now the fashion focus is once again on the Himalayan plateau, where huge, shaggy yaks are providing a softer alternative to cashmere or goat chin hairs.

One shawl of yak hair requires 330lb of cleaned and prepared hair.  A young woman of Greek, American and Tibetan heritage has created a yak hair workshop in the barren hillside of China's north-western Gansu province.  She is supplying luxury yak hair to the likes of Sonia Rykiel and Hermes.  Those two boutique names eliminate most of us mere mortals from owning one. 

Apparently fashion houses are fatigued with cashmere, which has become so "ho-hum." Yak hair is the next must -have item.  Cashmere was once noted for its cost, its' scarceness as well as its' softness. Now there is a glut of cashmere, with the likes of M&S offering cheap versions.  Shame!  The softest and most affordable of all these fibres is merino wool, which can even rival vicuna for "soft to the touch" quality.  But merino has yet to challenge these exotically-sourced higher priced alternatives with ethnic backgrounds.

Yak shawls which sell for £600 will be a boon to the yak herders, who are one of China's most deprived economic groups. Transforming the yak hair into a light airy designer accessory requires a huge amount of work.  One woman needs a month to spin 5lb of yak hair.  This will make two shawls.  Cashmere is far easier to work with and has become rather "common."

Yak shawls will probably be more popular with men, as yak hair is dark and lighter versions can't be made.  So real yak hair will only be produced in the colours of the Himalayas.

I can remember when cashmere, woven from Tibetan goats was a luxury, both for its' scarcity and its' softness.

Watch for yak hair in Milan.  If you're lucky enough to be able to afford this latest accessory, you may soon be wearing yak hair and making cashmere lovers jealous.  Bully for you!