Education for leading brands
Woolmark recently held a successful workshop for Australian and New Zealand sports and wellness brands, to upskill their knowledge of Merino wool and thereby help increase use of the fibre in their collections.
Attendees from sports and wellness brand’s at the Incubation Lab workshop held in October in Sydney (left to right above):
- Steve Philpott and Melanie Dumble of Bond-eye (swimwear)
- Sarah Forde and Leigh Gallagher of Modibodi (underwear and swimwear)
- Matt Brand and Stacey Doyle of Le Bent (outdoor)
- Ryan Paxton of Attaquer (cycling)
- Rex Zhang and Sofia Al Lahham of Paire (leisure and lifestyle)
- Nicole Carusi and Cara Plant of XTM (snow and outdoor)
- Milan Thompson and Alban Piot of Rip Curl (surfwear)
- Rachel Phillips of Asics (running and other sports)
- Mitchell Lyne of Cover Ridge (base layer)
- Carl Moriarty of MAAP (cycling)
- Omar Varts of Cover Ridge (base layer)
- Ashlea Warren and Georgia Saville of The Upside (sports and leisure)
Following the successful running of two previous editions of the Incubation Lab workshop during the past year, Woolmark held another edition of the workshop in Sydney in October, this one specifically tailored for Australian and New Zealand sports and wellness brands.
The Incubation Lab workshop aims to educate and inspire designers and creatives about the possibilities and versatility of Australian Merino wool. Through a comprehensive program featuring educational sessions and insights from industry leaders, participants gain valuable market knowledge and resources to enhance their design capabilities with wool.
“We developed the Incubation Labs to formulate community support for wool amongst designers and brands and to help them identify gaps in the supply chain,” said Clementine Hurley, Woolmark Business Development Manager – Fashion and Product for Australia and New Zealand.
“The initiative cements Woolmark’s commitment to nurturing emerging and recognised talent and propelling the future of the textile and fashion industry in the region with a focus on wool.”
Attracting a diverse group of participants from local sporting and wellness brands, the workshop in October covered key topics including on-farm sustainability practices, the thermal comfort benefits of wool in outdoor ‘stop-go’ sporting activities, innovation in wool performance products, sourcing wool fabrics, marketing wool as a fibre, and consumer insights.
The workshop enabled attendees to engage with a wide range of experts from Woolmark. In addition, Peter Wu and Jason Yu of Chinese wool fabric manufacturer Danmao Textiles via video link provided insights into the importance of wool for Danmao’s business and highlighted the innovative wool fabrics that the company produces for global sports and outdoor markets.
This article appeared in the December 2024 edition of AWI’s Beyond the Bale magazine. Reproduction of the article is encouraged.
