The Campaign for Wool’s WOOL SCHOOL initiative is back for 2013

The Campaign for Wool, of which His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales is a patron, announce the return of WOOL SCHOOL for 2013. Following a hugely successful first year the initiative welcomes Margaret Howell, Topman, Christopher Raeburn, Folk, Barbour, Brora and Albam to the roster of top UK fashion labels for this years campaign which sees fashion, textiles and design students across the country competing to design wool sweaters to be sold in stores nationwide in the Autumn to celebrate Wool Week 2013.

The campaign received over 100 entries from each of the 12 collaborating universities with head designers and creative’s at each retail outlet joining forces to select their winner. Their decision was supported by President of Condé Nast International Nicholas Coleridge, knitwear specialist and tutor at Heriot Watt University, Sheila-Mary Curruthers and Chair of The International Wool Textile Organisation, Peter Ackroyd. 

For the second year running the project has seen students introduced to a retail partner and given the opportunity to design a wool jumper for their company keeping this year’s theme ‘knitwear traditions of the British Isles’ front of mind along with the retailers brand identity. One student per retailer has been selected and their jumper design will be developed, manufactured and will be available in stores to coincide with UK Wool Week: 14th-20th October 2013. 

President of Condé Nast International, Nicholas Coleridge:

“With even more retail partners and students taking part, Wool School 2013 has built on the success of its launch last year and is set to again showcase some of the best new designs in wool. Wool is once more a design fibre of choice and we eagerly await this year’s finished Wool School collection’

WOOL SCHOOL has been created to encourage the young designers of tomorrow to engage with designer’s favourite natural fibre wool, as they are guided by their paired retailer in a creative production process. 5% of WOOL SCHOOL jumper sales will go back into fashion education programmes across the UK.

With the guidance of HRH The Prince of Wales, the campaign moves into its fourth year, continuing to raise the profile of wool as a natural, bio degradable and renewable fibre.

See below for a full list of participating retailers and universities, for more information about the Campaign for Wool visit: www.campaignforwool.org/

@Campaignforwool #woolschool