Oz Merino gets fashionably Posh

Leading women's fashion retailer Kookai and Sydney-based wool research company Australian Wool Innovation (AWI) have teamed up to create a Merino wool apparel range.
The POSH MERINO collection -- comprising three dresses and five skirts made from specially developed fabric -- is available in a colour palette of Black, Tobacco and Desert SAWI CEO Len Stephens said the label epitomized AWI's aim of working with designers, manufacturers and retailers to turn primary Merino wool product into commercially viable, fashionable clothing with a broad retail distribution.
The quality of the wool had been ensured by the fact that it had been provided by a single producer, Gostwyk Station in NSW, he added.
"A finer micron, tighter fibre specifications, a different yarn twist and finish have helped deliver a fabric that is super soft to touch, lightweight with improved drape and machine washable," he explained.
Kookai managing director Robert Cromb said the aim of the project had been "to present wool in a fashionable, fun and ty"This partnership with AWI has been very important to us and we believe Australian wool has a very exciting future in our company," he added.
The partnership marks AWI's latest and most wide-reaching initiative; the organisation has also worked with renowned fashion names including Sydney-based designer Akira Isogawa to promote the merits of domestically produced wool within the Australian fashion market and overseas.
AWI intends to approach Kookai head office in Paris to discuss expanding POSH MERINO's reach to Kookai's northern hemisphere franchises following an assessment of its success in Australia.
"The best way to get more Australian Merino wool into global apparel markets is to work directly with the designers and retailers who make the decisions about what fibres are used, and this is what AWI is doing," said AWI CEO Len Stephens.
"AWI has had a love affair with wool for a long time and it gives us great pleasure to be able to present a product to Australian consumers that is based on Australian wool," he added.

 The POSH MERINO launch was accompanied by in-store and point of sale promotional material featuring Merino lambs.