Australian swim brand Bond-Eye has developed a wool-blend version of its crinkle fabric with textile developer Maxxam and Woolmark, removing nylon and polyester from the composition.
The fabric, Maxxam Wool Crinkle, is made from 45 per cent Australian Merino wool, 45 per cent Tencel and 10 per cent elastane. Tencel is a form of regenerated cellulose fibre.
The new fabric will debut in a 26-piece collection. The three partners have described the fabric as a world-first.
The project builds on Bond-Eye’s decade-long relationship with Maxxam founder Rosemary Moore, who invented the original seamless crinkle fabric in the early 1980s. Bond-Eye brought in Woolmark to help with sourcing, technical expertise and performance testing. That testing included colourfastness to chlorinated water and seawater.
“Bringing Australian Merino wool into swimwear takes the fabric into an entirely new space,” Bond-Eye founder and CEO Steve Philpott said.
He said the collaboration was part of the brand’s ambition to reduce its reliance on conventional synthetic fibres by exploring natural and renewable alternatives.
Moore developed the fabric over almost two years with a specialist knitting mill in Italy. Woolmark made the introduction. She said the process involved many trials of yarns, blends, dyeing and finishing before the team settled on the Merino and Tencel combination.
“In many ways, [it] feels like coming full circle,” Moore said.
The fabric is knitted as a tube with four-way stretch and recovery. As a result, most garments in the collection are not sized and fit from extra-small to large.
The collection pairs swimwear with plain-knit wool-blend cover-ups and layering pieces, aimed at moving between swim, training and social settings. Bond-Eye designer Mim Goode said the brand chose wool for its natural elasticity and recovery, moisture-wicking and temperature regulation.
“What's special about this collection is that it's one of the first swimwear collections to feature wool as a key fibre,” Goode said. “It's exciting to use wool because of its natural elasticity and recovery, as well as its moisture-wicking and temperature-regulating properties – we wanted to explore how those qualities could translate into swimwear.
“We also wanted the collection to reflect the way people live today, so the pieces move between swim, athleisure and beach-to-bar without asking anyone to compromise.”
Woolmark managing director Bryan Fry said the challenge was to meet swimwear’s technical demands without losing what makes Merino distinctive.
“It demonstrates the potential to create a new premium proposition for swim and resortwear, while opening a broader commercial pathway for Australian wool,” Fry said.
Maxxam Wool Crinkle will form part of a wider range of wool-blend swim and resortwear fabrics. The partners will reveal further details in early 2027.