Latest Wool Releases From Maharam
A commitment to sustainability informs the Maharam Design Studio’s ongoing work with rapidly renewable and recycled content. During the creation of three new additions to Maharam Wool, Jasper, Petra and Roman, the studio was determined to significantly reduce their environmental impact at every stage; in the sourcing, processing, and transportation of the wool.
Jasper’s ribbed surface enlists wool sourced from sheep raised in the US that’s dyed, spun, and woven in Pennsylvania to minimize its carbon footprint.
A blend of wool and linen, Petra is dyed and finished at a resource with significantly reduced emissions and water consumption.
Roman is a dense epingle whose content derives from recycled wool clothing that’s shredded, sorted, and cleaned before being spun back into yarn.
Wool is Maharam’s latest product initiative for 2021, and builds upon an interest in renewable natural fibres and bringing a fresh perspective to classic textiles. Maharam is introducing a comprehensive collection of wool upholstery across three launches throughout the year, with the initial release comprising ten styles guided by Maharam’s material expertise and a desire to highlight the environmental, aesthetic, and performance benefits of wool. As with other solids in the studio’s offering, Maharam wool prioritises an extraordinary breadth of texture and colour, avoiding added chemical finishes wherever possible.
To achieve the unique textural range they desired, the Maharam Design Studio worked with specialised resources in historic textile regions throughout the world. Highlighting the versatility of wool, textures range from finely tailored to felted to structured to slubbed. This variety is exemplified by classic constructions such as Roman’s robust epingle and Jasper’s architectural ribs as well as Nico and Petra’s exploration of technical and irregular surfaces, respectively.
An expansive palette of 400 colours was developed in response to each surface and deployed through multiple dyeing techniques for precise colour blending to highlight wool’s dynamic absorption of colour. This is seen in the airy cross-hatch of Campana’s refined integrations of white or black fibres with solid colour, and Luce’s offset twill whose flecked palette derives from the post-consumer recycled wool of repurposed garments. By turn, Beck’s tailored plain weave explores painterly mixing of dyed fibres across an extensive palette.
Following the 2021 launch of Maharam’s wool initiative, the Maharam Design Studio will continue to deepen this offering with subsequent introductions.