Stéphanie and Carole met in their teenage years after having followed two different paths, one in finance and the other in fashion. As frequent travellers all around the world, the friends discovered later in life they were both passionate about fashion, design and cashmere.
Benaroya, who comes from a family of retailers and entrepreneurs, had an international career in finance, but left the industry, exhausted. Eriksson comes from a family of ready-to-wear retailers and worked at Joseph for 15 years.
Their ambition to start their own cashmere brand in 2012 followed a trip to Mongolia, the origin of cashmere. After several months of planning, the two women decided to take the plunge, keen to disrupt the notion that cashmere is reserved for an elite.
The adventure began with a Parisian store in rue du Commerce, where Benaroya and Eriksson spent their days behind the counter, initially serving friends and relatives attracted by their products.
Kujten’s cashmere is produced by nomadic breeders and sold to the label’s main supplier, with which both founders are very well acquainted. The mesh used comes from the Capra Hisca goat, a goat with unusual hair that can withstand a temperature of -40 Celsius degrees in winter. They have a soft, silky fleece that moults in spring. This breed of goat is noble and rare. The supplier has been working for more than 20 years with Benaroya’s husband, a former cashmere wholesaler. The yarn is processed locally, without the intervention of external contractors.
The website stocks a large variety of leggings and joggers, sweaters, and jackets and vests, each one stating whether the item has 1, 2, 4 or 6 threads.
The founders continue to diversify their business. The label has now extended to a menswear range and kids.
