Woolmark unveils Wool Lab’s new edition at Pitti Uomo

By

Susan Spies

Published
Jan 11, 2017

The Woolmark Company has unveiled the latest edition of The Wool Lab Spring/Summer 2018 at Pitti Uomo to inspire and connect designers with the world’s best commercially available wool fabric and yarn manufacturers.

This year's Wool Lab Spring/Summer 2018 edition presents six fashion themes that includes both men's and women's garments, part of fashion's current co-ed obsession, but also an effort to demonstrate that "wool fabrics are increasingly popular outside of traditional men’s tailoring," explains the wool advocate in a release.

From the "Generations" theme, comprising the more classic wool suiting fabrics to the forward looking aesthetic of the "New Makers" section, the Lab aims to educate buyers and designers about the versatility of wool.

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This year's Wool Lab at Pitti Uomo also offers show attendees a virtual trip to Australia that transports them to a wool-growing property to discover the origins of merino wool and its natural environment. Given that animal rights organization PETA is increasingly taking aim at the wool industry, such an initiative could be part of a quiet campaign to push back on charges that wool farming is harmful to sheep. 

Woolmark, which calls itself "the world's authority on wool" and is a subsidiary of the non-profit Australian Wool Initiative, is no doubt challenged by PETA's recent series of high-profile campaigns against wool and what it claims is the mistreatment of sheep in the production of wool. While the company's website does not directly take on the issue, nor is it mentioned in the Wool Lab press release, Woolmark will likely be making more efforts to present sheep husbandry and the wool industry in a positive light. 

And Woolmark also seems to have taken careful note of the Athleisure trend, with this year's lab hosting two sections on the use of wool in the sports and outdoor industry. The goal is to highlight the technical benefits of the natural material and demonstrate wool's "incredible fineness, softness and lightness," which makes wool ideal as a performance fiber for activewear, says the company.

The Wool Lab is located at stand F/1 in the Central Building at the Pitti Uomo trade show that started on January 10 and ends on January 13