Raquel Boedo and Ned Scholfield founded McIntyre Merino in 2016 after spending a year living on Scholfield’s family’s sheep farm in Victoria. With retail stores in Melbourne and Sydney, and a thriving online business, theNed’s family have been wool growers for over 150 years. We noticed that our generation was not familiar with wool and garments were designed for an older, more conservative buyer. WHAT IS YOUR LABEL'S ETHOS? We are an Australian brand that exists to share our passion for wool with the world. We truly believe wool doesn’t need to be boring, and design with this in mind. DOES PURE WOOL DESERVES A LARGER PLACE IN FASHION? Yes. Pure merino wool is so nice to wear. Its natural properties like temperature regulation, odour control and breathability mean your garment adapts to your environment. It needs much less washing than a blended wool garment so you use far less water. Pure wool is 100 per cent natural, renewable, biodegradable and recyclable, making it an environmentally positive fibre. TELL US ABOUT YOUR FEATHERWEIGHT WOOL. Our ultra-light garments have a wonderful drape and are so light and soft against the skin. We were so happy with the response to the summer collection as it has been hard to educate customers that they can wear wool in the hotter months. WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE HAPPEN WITH AUSTRALIAN WOOL MANUFACTURING? We would love to see more [of it]. There is a small industry of knitters left, but new skilled workers are needed to join the workforce, and investment in the industry to keep it alive. The missing step here is spinning and dying and we are forced to go offshore even if we want to be solely Australian made. It's a shame that as the predominant growers of wool globally we cannot make a finished garment here.
