Totême materials and care: wool, cashmere, silk, leather and jewellery

Totême builds its collections from a short list of fibres and repeats them: wool and cashmere for the coats and knits, cotton for the shirting and denim, silk for the scarves and slips, linen for summer, leather and shearling for the outerwear and accessories. This page lists what the house uses, counted across the 1,518 pieces on Luxury Shoes , what the brand says about sourcing, and how to care for each so it lasts the decade the design deserves. The care lines are the brand’s own from the product pages, with Luxury Shoes ’s fitting-room notes where the brand is silent.

Key facts

• 110 current pieces contain wool and 58 contain cashmere; 192 cotton, 80 silk, 290 leather, 27 linen
• The brand states RWS (Responsible Wool Standard), RCS and GRS (recycled content) and GOTS (organic cotton) certifications on individual pieces, and Milkywire regenerative-farming support since 2024
• Bags: calf, cow and lamb leather, suede, nubuck, naplack (a glossed leather), pony hair-effect embossed leather and woven leather, lined in microsuede; the raffia totes are paper
• Jewellery: recycled brass with recycled 24kt gold plating, and rhodium plating on the silver pieces, on the fashion line; recycled 18kt gold and sterling silver on the fine line
• Care in one line: cold hand wash the knits (dry clean where the label says so), dry clean the coats, wipe the leather and keep it out of damp, take jewellery off before water

Fibres by count

Wool and cashmere

The coats are double-faced wool, wool-cashmere and melton; the knits are cashmere, merino, lambswool and alpaca. The brand certifies much of the wool under the Responsible Wool Standard and states it on the page. Care: dry clean the coats once a season and brush them between wears; hand wash the knits cold in a wool detergent, press the water out in a towel, dry flat and store folded with cedar. Pilling on cashmere is normal in the first weeks and comes off with a comb. Never hang a heavy knit.

Cotton, denim and linen

The shirting is cotton poplin and the denim is rigid organic cotton on the classic cuts, sometimes with a little elastane on the slimmer ones. Wash denim cold, inside out, rarely, and never tumble; the rigid cotton softens and gives about half an inch in the waist with wear. Linen creases and is meant to; a warm iron on the reverse while damp is all it needs. The GOTS mark appears on the organic cotton pieces.

Silk

The monogram scarves, the slips and the tops/blouse/" class="cvx-al cvx-al--category">blouses are silk twill and silk satin. Dry clean the printed scarves; the plain silks take a cold hand wash with a silk detergent, rolled in a towel and dried flat, then a cool iron on the reverse. Keep silk away from perfume and deodorant, which mark it.

Leather, suede and shearling

The bags and shoes are calf, cow and lamb leather, suede and nubuck, made in Italy. Wipe smooth leather with a dry cloth, keep it out of the rain and store it in the dust bag with the shape supported; brush suede and protect it with a spray before the first wear, and expect natural suede to transfer a little colour when damp, which the brand warns on its pages. Shearling is brushed, aired and taken to a specialist, never washed. Leather soles want a protective half sole before the first winter.

Jewellery

The fine line is recycled 18kt gold and sterling silver made in Arezzo; the fashion line is recycled brass, plated in recycled 24kt gold, and in rhodium for the silver pieces, handmade in Italy. Put it on last, after perfume and lotion, take it off before water and sleep, wipe it after wear and keep it in the protective packaging. The house says the hand finishing leaves small differences in colour and finish between pieces, which is by design.

“We believe in offering a streamlined wardrobe that is upgraded and complemented as opposed to reinvented, and present our collections through styling that expresses their full potential to encourage our customers to buy better and less, and wear more,” the house writes on its sustainability page.

“Our longstanding Signatures are unmistakably TOTEME: they have a classic expression and a clear purpose in our wardrobe. Whether it is a tank, trench or flip-flop, we strive to make the best wardrobe archetypes by tweaking and perfecting them over time through improved materials and manufacturing techniques,” the house writes on its sustainability page.

Frequently asked questions

Is Totême cashmere good quality?

Yes. It holds its shape after washing and pills less than the contemporary competition in our experience; a cashmere comb handles the first weeks.

Can I wash Totême knitwear?

Cold hand wash in a wool detergent, press the water out in a towel, dry flat. The brand states the care line on each page and Luxury Handbags repeats it on the listing.

Are Totême bags real leather?

Yes: calf, cow and lamb leather, suede and nubuck, with microsuede and leather linings, made in Italy. The pony hair-effect styles are embossed calf, not pony.

Is Totême jewellery real gold?

The fine line is recycled 18kt gold and sterling silver. The fashion line is recycled brass plated in recycled 24kt gold, and in rhodium for the silver pieces.

Is Totême sustainable?

The house publishes a sustainability report, certifies wool under RWS and recycled content under RCS and GRS, uses GOTS cotton on some pieces and supports regenerative farming through Milkywire since 2024. It also asks customers to buy better and less. Luxury Handbags reports what the brand states.

Where are Totême clothes made?

The brand names the country on some pages, Italy for the current bags, shoes and jewellery, and leaves most ready-to-wear without a country line. Luxury Handbags records what is stated.

Read next

Totême knitwear Totême leather The bag guide Glossary

More Totême guides

Every Totême page by Luxury Shoes ’s fashion editor Gemma Deeks: Is it a luxury brand?, How to style, Brands like Totême, The edit, Who is Totême?, History timeline, Size guide, Shoe size guide, Price guide, Where to buy, Sale, Review, Real vs fake, Glossary, Who wears it, vs The Row, vs Khaite, Capsule wardrobe, The Signatures, Fall winter 2026, Spring summer 2026, Coats, Scarf jackets and coats, Jackets and blazers, Shearling, Knitwear, Dresses, Trousers, Jeans and denim, Skirts, Tops and shirts, Swim and beachwear, Leather, Bag guide, T-Lock bags, Belted tote, Shoe guide, Boots, Flip flops, Sneakers, Jewellery guide, Sunglasses, Scarves, Black, Camel, beige and brown, White and ivory.

Sources and method

Checked on 18 September 2026 by Gemma Deeks, fashion editor at Luxury Shoes . Product facts, the compositions, care lines, dimensions, heel heights and country of manufacture, are the brand’s own product-page text; counts, prices and price ranges are Luxury Shoes ’s live catalogue on that date and move with stock; the founders’ biography and the house history come from the brand’s own pages and the press articles listed below, each read on the date above; the size scales are the brand’s own. Where a claim could not be checked against one of these it was left out, and where the fitting room is giving its own advice the page says so.

• toteme.com, About: the house’s own description of itself, its founders and the atelier in Stockholm
• toteme.com, Sustainability: the Signatures, the design principles, the Milkywire partnership and the 2024/25 report
• toteme.com, FAQ: shipping countries, duties, payment and returns on the brand’s own store
• toteme.com, Stores: the flagship list by country
• Totême product pages: the description, composition, care, size-guide and country-of-manufacture lines of every style (1,297 pages saved between June and September 2026)
• Elin Kling on Wikipedia
• Karl Lindman on Wikipedia
• Wikidata Q4959117
• WWD, With New Investment, Totême Shoots for the Stars (2021): the Altor minority investment, growth and margin figures and the founders’ quotes
• The Telegraph, Lisa Armstrong, 24 February 2025 (via Yahoo Life): revenue, headcount, the Paris show and Elin Kling’s quotes
• Vogue Scandinavia: Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden’s favourite Nordic brands
• The Business of Fashion, BoF 500: Elin Kling and Karl Lindman
• Luxury Handbags live catalogue, 18 September 2026: prices, sizes and stock