Who We Are

Khunu is a specialty apparel company driven by a social purpose - to empower communities at the heart of our supply chain. Through our pioneering use of yak wool sourced from nomadic communities on the Tibetan Plateau and Mongolia, we seek to blend style and function to create prouducts that outfit the modern-day adventurer. Inspired by the journey more than the destination, Khunu is adventure with a sense of style.  

Our Story

Khunu was founded in 2009 by Julian Wilson and Aaron Pattillo, two friends who met whille living in Beijing. Neither originally set out to be in the clothing business (indeed neither had any background in the industry whatsoever), but they both shared a vision to create a company that harnessed their passion for the outdoors and adventure travel and the evolving field of social entrepreneurship. Khunu is the brainchild of that effort.

The initial idea was developed further during a bitterly cold mid-December trip to the Tibetan plateau. Through a hearty dose of good fortune, the pair found themselves camped out at nearly 5,000 meters with a gracious family of Tibetan nomads. Yaks became a main topic of discussion and the two trekked out of the mountains two weeks later and made their way back to Beijing with a sack full of yak wool. Over the course of the following year they pursued an idea many said was either impossible, foolhardy or naïve. But at each hurdle they persisted. Their pursuit took them back to the far reaches of the Tibetan plateau and then north to the steppes of Mongolia, where they participated in yak wool auctions and spent many hours bouncing around the back of Russian made jeeps. Along the way they met an eclectic mix of people - eager development and NGO types, wool scouring specialists, textile experts, finance people, large animal veterinarians, high-end fashion designers, genetics researchers, production people, web gurus, as well as their mentor and now Chairman Ian Stewart - photographer, entrepreneur and co-founder of "WIRED" magazine.

As the personality of the venture took shape, it needed a name that helped to define it. Khunu was inspired by the nomadic people from whom the company sources. It is the name of the first Mongolian dynasty which formed over a thousand years prior to the rise of the legendary Ghengis Khan. Khunu is also the name of a river near a region in Mongolia from which Khunu has explored sourcing. Vast, majestic scenery and hardy, adventurous people who respect and live in harmony with their environment seemed to embody what Khunu is all about.