FRANKFURT–The Woolmark Company unveiled its inaugural edition of the Wool Lab Interiors guide, a compendium of the most innovative applications of wool, particularly for the furnishing and interior textile sectors.
Wool Lab Interiors was officially launched at Heimtextil 2014 in Frankfurt, Germany. The guide is meant to serve a double purpose: instructional manual and source of aesthetic inspiration. Produced with designers and architects in mind, Wool Lab Interiors includes the names and contact information of the suppliers one can contact to make either purchases or inquiries.
The first edition of Wool Lab Interiors focuses on five inspirational themes under which much of the most cutting-edge wool innovation organizes itself around. One theme, “798,” pays homage to the district art lab in Beijing of the same name where local culture and art are synthesized with contemporary technological advances. Also accentuating a modern stylistic bent is “Metropolis,” which focuses on the rising demand for a combination of aesthetic “linearity” developed through an admixture of wool with other materials like leather, combed fabrics and draperies, creating elegant, simple designs.
Paradoxically, not all the newest trends identified are so preoccupied with modern forms. “Tweed Heritage,” another of the inspirational themes highlighted by Wool Lab Interiors, centers on the revival of a well-established Scottish tradition, updated to blend well into modern, urban life. And “Scandinavian” harkens back to the iconic Nordic designs of the 1950s and 60s, nostalgically restoring their “dusty” colors and clean lines.
Innovations in wool have historically played a major role in the creation of environmentally responsible textiles. The fifth and final inspirational theme, “Pure,” captures the colors and hues, plain forms and soft ambiance that are evocative of nature and, by extension, the ecologically sustainable use of the materials nature provides.
Wool Lab Interiors is a free guide, available to anyone at Heimtextil 2014. The Woolmark Company is a non-profit organization owned by Australian Wool Innovation (AWI), which comprises over 25,000 woolgrowers. AWI’s overarching mission is to boost the profitability, international competitiveness and sustainability of wool globally by working with every link along the supply chain. Established in 1964, AWI is collectively owned by more than 25,000 wool growers.