Story
A karakul sheep was the first animal which people have begun to breed because of its beautiful fur. A high level of adaptation to semi-desert conditions has made this breed very popular among the peoples of the Middle Asia. The Khorezm khanate – the territory of Uzbekistan in present days is supposed to be the “historic home-land” of the karakul sheep.
Before 1900 the khanates in the Middle Asia and Russia were monopolists of karakul supplies on the world market. At the beginning of the 20th century several European agricultural institutes began studying the problems of karakul sheep rearing in other countries. In 1907 six karakul sheep were transported into South-West Africa. From that time the production of Namibian karakul, named “swakara” (the abbreviation of South-West Africa karakul) has been started. By the beginning of World War One the largest part of karakul sheep (about two million) in the world had been still concentrated in the Middle Asia and had belonged to emir of Bukhara and rich local landlords. In the beginning of the 1920`s after the establishment of the Soviet regime in the region about 400 thousand karakul sheep were conveyed into Afghanistan with the retreating troops of local landlords. This live-stock became a basis for Afghan - Afghanistan sort of karakul.
Karakul sheep-breeding has gradually been turned into one of the main economic industries of the new Middle Asian republics of the USSR. Several pedigree stock-breeding ranches, scientific research institutes and about 700 of karakul farms with different specializations have been organized. The portion of karakul in the total Soviet peltry exports made up 40%. Having a trade mark BUHARA KARAKUL it has been supplied through the trade association “SOUZPUSHNINA” in Leningrad.
The 1970s – 1980s were the years of prosperity for karakul sheep-breeding in the whole world. The total volume of karakul production made up 18 million fells , 95% of it belonged to “three whales” – the USSR, Afghanistan and Namibia.
But since the 1980s the serious political problems in the exporting countries, activization of fighters for animal rights and changes in fashion priorities had initiated the beginning of the world crisis in karakul sheep-breeding. It has led to the situation when the capacity of karakul market has reduced in about twenty times.
In spring, 2004 the era of the Renaissance of karakul has begun. When “swakara” head-dress from Prada was demonstrated during Milan Fashion Week, many have become interested in this rear fur, which was moreover notable for its extraordinary and spectacular structure. The unique features of fur is also very important for exclusive articles.
The fashion year of 2005 was maked by a triumphal march of karakul on podia. Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci, J.Mendel, Valentino, Missoni, Michael Kors, Jean Paul Gaultier, Louis Vuitton, Roberto Cavall, Prada and other leading Houses considered it to be their duty to include the articles and trimmings made of karakul in their collections. The fur market has reacted to such popularity at once: for last years the price of karakul has grown in four times.
Features
Every karakul fell is a unique thing therefore pedigree breeding has got a great importance. The most significant feature of a karakul sheep fell is its curls forming a surface tracery, or curlicue. The forms, dimensions and combinations of curls are the main characteristics of karakul fell quality. The fells with long rows of curls creating the tracery resembling x – ray photograph of a thorax are considered to be especially valuable. The “curly” sorts of karakul are the cheapest. With the years the length of lamb`s hair is increasing, so the quality of curls is deteriorating.
Sorts
The different directions of selection in producing countries have led to the creation of three sorts of karakul (the Uzbek, the Afghan and Swakara) which are similar to each other but not identical. Every karakul fell of a high quality is set much. The Swakara is conside
red to be the most expensive sort of karakul, as long as the number of fells in the world market is small but fell traceries are beautiful. The Afghanian karakul is the most widely spread and an actual demand for it is very high since it can be gathered in large homogeneous batches. 90% of all articles, made of gray karakul are sewn of the Afghanian origin skins. The situation with the Uzbek karakul is more complicated. On the one hand, the present laws of Uzbekistan prohibit to export raw fells. On the other hand, the long time absence of the planned selective work has caused the bulk of goods to be a cheap karakul of low quality. Furthermore, the high karakul of “jaketney” sort, which was the main product of Uzbek specialization, is considered as being a antiquated material. The latest fashion has a propensity for the flat ribbed sort of karakul. In connection with such tendencies the karakulcha (“broad tail”) is valued very high because of the fine moiré sketch of a future tracery. Swakara is being sold at Kopenhagen Fur auctions, the Afghanian karakul is basically supplied to Finish Fur Sales and partially to Ñopenhagen. The volume of Uzbek karakul deliveries to the world market is rather small. The largest part of karakul production is being sold at the internal market of Uzbekistan.
Colours
The black colour is the most widely spread colour of karakul. It has got the most spectacular tracery. The charm of grey karakul can be explained by colour playing, but its tracery is less interesting than the black one. Depending on the correlation of black and white hair quantities the possible natural colours of grey karakul lie in the range from a light grey-blue colour to a black one with a grey spine. The presence of some brown hair on the grey karakul fell imparts it a fine lilac tint. Such sort of karakul is called “guligaz” (in Uzbek it means “a flower of tamarisk”). The grey karakul is a very convenient material for dyeing, for a neutral grey colour does not make coloured distortions. 
After dyeing the spectacular colour conversion is well preserved: from intensive colours (on the places with white hair) to deadened colours (on the places with dark hair). The brown karakul belongs to the rare sorts, and it is not often applied with its natural colour because of a long range of colorations: from chocolate colour to beige, from ginger to cold pale-yellow one. The most valuable sort of brown karakul is called “sur”. Intensity of its colour is changing along height of hair: at the roots it is darker, on the tops – lighter. During “the best years” of selective work three “sur” strains of the seven colours (silvery, goldish, bronzed, platinum, steel-blue and colours of “apricot flower”) were being bred in the USSR. The rarest colour of karakul is a white one. Only swakara has a pure colour of milk; Afghanian white karakul is considered most probably to be a rare, casual variation of a light grey colour.
Technologies
When karakul skins are used with their natural colours, the leather side of the pelts is to be dyed into the colour of nap in the majority of cases. A bleaching technology is used to process black fells having the most spectacular traceries. As a result dark beige coloured fells appear. The other expensive manufacturing technologies are applied more rarely. They are: the stenciled dyeing, partial dyeing and bleaching with the reservation of some places, skin processing with the imitation of suede and leather for double-face articles.
Karakul is not intended for very low temperatures. A person wearing even a long karakul overcoat may have a feeling of comfort only up to –10 Ñ degrees centigrade. But on the other hand karakul has a great advantage: it doesn’t make anybody look fat. At the same time having rather high level of hard-wearing capacity, karakul is the ideal fur for women whose personal parameters are differing from “legendary” sizes – 90-60-90.
Last Fashion Weeks have demonstrated the high spectacular look of various pieces of modern karakul clothing, such as tight overcoats, dresses, sporting jacket-bombers, classic men’s jackets, hold-all bags. Karakul can creat extremely bright and extraordinary combinations with such materials as crocodile leather, feather, lynx and badger fur. Thus, on coming back from non-existence and old-fashioned wardrobes, karakul has become a desired kind of fur not only for those people who follow the considerations of comfort and practicalness, but even for those who appreciate spectacular and luxurious stylish clothes.