Spring is approaching but wool, it seems, is fast becoming a yarn for all seasons – a fact embraced by men for whom frequent business travel presents the challenge of keeping cool and comfortable in different climates, often in one day.
“Wool’s properties have evolved over thousands of years,” says Nicolas Guilbaud, sales executive at cloth merchants Holland & Sherry, which has been supplying Savile Row for almost two centuries. “Many people think of it as only a cold weather fabric but it regulates temperature better than any other material, Merino sheep originate from Spain while virtually all the world’s merino wool production comes from Australia. These animals have evolved to be comfortable in predominantly hot, but variable, climates.”
Cool Wool is in the vanguard of multiseasonal natural fibres. It’s a high-twist lightweight merino cloth that was seen at the recent menswear shows of Christopher Raeburn, Jonathan Saunders, Richard Nicoll, Lou Dalton and Paul Smith and is also a favourite among Savile Row tailors.