Historic textile mill Hainsworth has been invited to take part in the world’s largest showcase of wool.
The Campaign for Wool launches Wool House this week, which will be open for free to the public from March 13-24.
Wool House will present a vision for wool as a modern, versatile, lifestyle fibre and will be hosted in the stunning West Wing of Somerset House in central London which has been transformed into a home made primarily of wool.
Seven individual rooms, from the bedroom to the study, created by leading designers, will be exhibited to show how the design community uses wool extensively in their work.
Three additional rooms will be dedicated to fashion displays, celebrating the importance of the fibre in today’s fashion industry. Presented by The Campaign for Wool, an artisan in residence will also work on location throughout the period demonstrating the heritage of industry skills to the public.
Anne Kyyrö Quinn, one of Britain’s leading manufacturers of handcrafted interior textiles, has designed a long bench for the exhibition using 15 metres of Hainsworth’s tightly woven white Melton interior fabric.
Top & Tail blankets from Hainsworth’s own luxurious lifestyle range Scarlet & Argent will also feature.
Anne Kyyrö Quinn, whose work has appeared in the film Sex and the City 2, said: “We have often used Hainsworth’s woollen fabrics for our cushions and ottomans and are pleased to use and support British textile companies.”
Tom Hainsworth, MD of Hainsworth, said “We’re delighted that Anne Kyyrö Quinn chose our fabric as the inspiration for her bench and that our first ever consumer brand Scarlet & Argent is also featuring in the Wool House.”
The company, founded in 1783, is probably best known for manufacturing the famous Hainsworth Guard Scarlet cloth which is worn by the Queen’s Guards outside Buckingham Palace. Hainsworth, which holds a Royal Warrant, has been supplying cloth to the UK Armed Forces since the Duke of Wellington faced Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.
About Somerset House
Somerset House is a spectacular neo-classical building in the heart of London, sitting between the Strand and the River Thames. Since opening to the public in 2000, Somerset House has produced a distinctive public programme that annually draws over 2 million visitors to the site, providing a stimulating environment for exploration and relaxation.
The varied, year-round programme includes an open air film and concert season and ice rink, as well as temporary exhibitions focusing on contemporary fashion, design, art and architecture, family workshops and free guided tours.
Campaign for Wool Background
The Campaign for Wool was launched in 2010 and is a cross-industry initiative convened by HRH The Prince of Wales (now Patron).
The Campaign for Wool ensures the long-term viability of the wool textile industry and the skills and prosperity of businesses that are within the long chain of production for wool products. Fundamentally this is to return a better price to the international community of sheep farmers for the wool and to help keep sheep on the land.
The aim of The Campaign for Wool is to promote the fibre as a beautiful, stylish, natural and sustainable solution for fashion, interiors and the built environment.
The Campaign for Wool is committed to strategically working to raise the profile of wool in a variety of different ways and with many partners both commercial and individual - using a key marketing platform - Wool Week. This is now supported by many leading retailers and manufacturing partners.
The Campaign for Wool also invests its funding in an annual high profile event to create consumer attraction. Previous years have seen Savile Row taken over by sheep, the yarn bombing of nationwide store windows, and Wool Modern – a fashion and interiors fusion exhibition now residing in China.
