Having borne the brunt of Canberra’s incredible yearly chills, more than a few of us are harbouring some great Australian wool in our closets.
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Which puts us in esteemed company - among the biggest fans and supporters of the Merino fibre is none other than the Prince of Wales.
As part of his Australian tour, the heir to Queen Elizabeth II's throne and Patron of the Campaign for Wool met with some prominent Australian designers at the Museum for Contemporary Art in Sydney on Friday.
The prince hastened to point out his suit was made of Australian wool.
The Campaign for Wool event hosted by Australian Wool innovation had designers Akira Isogawa, Camilla Freeman-Topper and Marc Freeman of Camilla and Marc, Dion Lee, Josh Goot and Kym Ellery showcase their woollen creations to the royal.
Ellery said of the heir to the throne, ‘‘He was such a charmer. I was surprised at the amount of attention and conversation he gave us (the designers) and everyone in the room.’’
In her small installation space she presented three versions of dress from her new collection, Swish#015. The dress was created in new colours for the event and trimmed in crocheted wool at its neck and centre front seams. The collection is inspired by street basketball at Venice Beach in Los Angeles.
Ellery expressed a desire to dress Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, or Kate Middleton, who the designer would put in a white lace lattice gown.
Ellery understood her involvement to be linked to her bona fide love of wool.
‘‘It’s part of our country’s livelihood, that’s so important as well.’’
Goot, whose creations are stocked in Canberra and could also be familiar to locals from his Target collaboration early on in his career, said the prince had been ‘‘really engaged and kind of good humoured and interested’’.
‘‘It was a cool moment and great to share it with my peers, some other young Australian designers.’’
He showed a 100 per cent wool suiting tuxedo suit from his 2012 autumn/winter collection.
‘‘It’s a classic piece, something we feel a modern woman could have in her wardrobe.’’
His autumn-winter range is to feature wool blended with silk and digital prints.
The Campaign for Wool educates consumers on the benefits of wool and promotes wool products to an international audience in support of the wool industry.
Australian Wool Innovations chief executive Stuart McCullough said the campaign spruiked wool’s natural benefits and sustainable elements.
‘‘It doesn’t get better than having a future king supporting a campaign for any product. We’re delighted it’s wool.
‘‘There’s no man who wears more wool [than the Prince of Wales], he’s in a suit day in, day out.’’
