Presenting a guide to the most inspiring wool trends and best products for Autumn/Winter 2013-14 at the Wills India Fashion Week was The Woolmark Company, the world’s best known textile fibre brand, established in 1964 by Australian Wool Innovation (AWI), as a not-for-profit company comprising of over 29,000 woolgrowers. Created by The Wool Lab, a permanent laboratory setup in Florence, Italy, after identifying the emerging trends in fashion, design, art, pop culture, music and other fields, on display were nine inspiring themes inclusive of macro-trends, “long-waves” moving through fashion and lifestyle with endurable influence and more current ones reflecting what’s in vogue right now and the upcoming needs of the future market.
Represented by a collection of yarns and fabrics that are commercially available, as well as some exclusive pieces from Woolmark’s archives, to stimulate a contemporary re-interpretation, each of the nine themes stand unique with the ‘URBAN’ theme portrayed as the most interesting of macro trends which proposes wool products in a street, young, cosmopolitan way, whilst pushing the casual concept to a more refined and quality-oriented aesthetic, under the sub themes of ‘ASPHALT’, ‘BERLIN’ and ‘DETROIT’. Other themes include – ‘DANDY’ that takes inspiration from a cultured, exclusive and slightly romantic style, emulating the elegance of the end of the nineteenth century, the collection is inspired by a desire to live a sophisticated life and to “live life as a work of art” with tailored suits and coats to represent a formal taste; ‘BROOKLYN’ captured from the 1940s and the lifestyle of the American upper middle-class, with particular re-interpretation and modern relaxed accents to appeal to a younger generation; ‘captured from the 1940s and the lifestyle of the American upper middle-class, with particular re-interpretation and modern relaxed accents to appeal to a younger generation; ‘WITNESS’ inspired by the film “Witness” with a look that is large and functional, reflective of how the theme traditionally appears in rural communities who need to be comfortable and practical; ‘BLACK SWAN’ taking a theatrical inspiration with art-deco accents and baroque mood to inspire graphic elements also for men’s fabrics and patterns; ‘MURANO’, a ultra-feminine trend in a sophisticated and elegant way, particularly evident through the use of a palette that includes delicate tones of pale pink powder and orange, mixed with colder tones in green aquamarine and baby blue; ‘PURE’ present in every new edition offering new inspiration and proposals connected to eco-friendly and eco-sustainable situations, highlighting the green soul of Merino wool.
Apart from new themes for the next season, the company also unveiled a new trade facing campaign at the event, Wool Muse, inspired by Australian Merino wool, personifying the journey from farm to fashion in one garment. The initiative celebrates the artisan process from woolgrowers, top makers, spinners, weavers, knitters, designers and manufacturers who are inspired to work with Merino wool and works towards educating all involved in the fashion industry. Excited about the exhibit, Amir Sheikh, Country Manager-India of The Woolmark Company shared, “We take this opportunity to showcase wool in the most artistic manner inspiring our Indian designers and offering trend forecast with commercially available yarns and fabrics sourced from leading manufactures around the world, with the support and association of FDCI.”
