The Sherpa Kirtipur Sweater Jacket

An outdoors jacket that takes four days to hand knit has scooped a top award.

Sherpa Adventure Gear’s Kirtipur Sweater Jacket was named a gold winner at the giant ISPO trade show in Munich.

The garment is produced in the Nepal village that gives the jacket its name. The Kathmandu-based brand employs more than 1,000 women to knit the company’s sweaters and hats on hand looms.

Sherpa said the Kirtipur Sweater, made in different designs for men and women, combines the tradition and beauty of a hand-knitted woollen sweater with the modern insulating power of PrimaLoft Silver.

The jacket has practical features such as a collared, adjustable hood and internal cuffs to seal in heat.

Brand chief executive and founder Tashi Sherpa said: “The Kirtipur Sweater Jacket has been an odyssey of hope and dedication from day one.

“What started off as a simple idea to empower some women in a small village to learn to knit and make a living has now grown into an iconic symbol representing the richness of an ancient heritage with the best innovations of modern technology.”

The jacket and Sherpa hats are produced in co-operatives in the historic Nepalese village of Bhaktapur and in Kirtipur.

Sherpa plans to extend its range of hand-knitted jackets in lambswool with PrimaLoft Silver insulation with the introduction later this year of the Lhotse for men and the Nima for women.

The Kirtipur Sweater Jacket won the gold award in the outdoor lifestyle and fashion section of the ISPO awards at the major Munich trade show, where outdoor brands unveil their new products to retailers and the wider outdoors world.