The Woolmark Company unveils Wool Lab Vision SS 2021

This year, the Indian industry will get an opportunity to see the work of ‘The Wool Lab Vision’ at ASW 2020 where findings for Spring/Summer 2021 will be discussed at a workshop by The Woolmark Company. The Vision will focus on two important development areas. ‘The Wool and The Water’ will highlight fabrics and garments associated with water, for example, sailing, outdoor water repellency. The ‘Woolbeing’ will highlight processes, fabrications and garments suitable for yoga and well-being.

The Wool Lab brings together the company’s global supply chain network to showcase real samples of commercially available fabrics aligned to the season’s macro-themes.

Each season, The Woolmark Company reaches out to hundreds of spinners and weavers in Italy, France, the UK, China, Japan, India and various other countries, to source their latest fabric developments. With this, their team of experts’ curate a seasonal sourcing guide with a selection of the best textile and yarn swatches, which can then be ordered directly from suppliers through The Wool Lab.

In response to designer and brand needs, The Wool Lab is now divided into product categories to facilitate and better address the research of fabrics and yarns, and to provide a more focused and direct approach to the sourcing of materials and product innovation. The Woolmark Company creates The Wool Lab twice per year, with one edition dedicated to Spring/Summer and the other to Autumn/Winter. In response to global trends and consumer demand, two additional editions of The Wool Lab have been created: The Wool Lab Sport and The Wool Lab Denim.

What initially started as an inspirational guide divided in macro-trends, The Wool Lab has now evolved to become a functional and experiential guide, with a focus on innovations, allowing designers and brands to find the perfect wool fabric or yarn and be connected directly with the supplier, encouraging global networking between brands and manufacturers. Till date, more than 71,200 swatch requests have been made via The Wool Lab app across 74 countries.

“Each edition of The Wool Lab is created in collaboration with the world’s most innovative and quality-oriented spinners and weavers to present an inspirational sourcing guide available for designers and brands to view,” said Stuart McCullough, CEO, The Woolmark Company.

A new digital component has also been introduced to the display of The Wool Lab at trade fairs. Using the devices provided at the booth, visitors scan the QR code of a swatch and immediately receive an email with requested details and contact information of the manufacturer.

The Wool Lab is presented globally during the most important trade shows including: Best Knit (Japan), Intertextile (China), ISPO (Germany), Pitti Filati (Italy), Pitti Uomo (Italy), Première Vision (France), Outdoor Retailer (US) and SPINEXPO (China). It is also presented at individual meetings to inspire and inform designers, manufacturers, retailers, fashion and apparel brands and fashion industry professionals.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (PC)