The Americans, it seems, are brought up on puppy soft preppy cashmere blends. But us Brits are made from hardier stuff. We grew up in Grannie’s home-made knits that got longer and longer with every wear. As little nippers, we had mittens attached to long strands of elastic to stop us losing them. And there was always a kid at school who wore a stripey scarf that his mum had knitted, inspired by Tom Baker’s Dr Who. Or remember the 1970s classic, the balaclava? At the time, we thought it was SAS storming the Iranian embassy. Actually it was just a bit itchy and had a whiff of bad breath and damp wool.

But
the world of wool has moved on. It is classic, it is British and it is cool.

It’s why in the thirty or so years we’ve been in this game, we’ve covered quite a bit of woolly ground.

We’re pretty sure we were the first to drive a flock of sheep through Soho (it has been done since, but we were the first…). And with a natty marketing campaign
we called ‘Sheep’s Back to Man’s Back’ we followed the journey the woollen fleeces on those sheep took all the way from the field through to the finished
jackets being made in East London. In 2013 we collaborated with Blur’s Alex James and Fox Brothers in Somerset to design a three-piece woollen suit. The films we made of that are still knocking around on YouTube.

In the Jack Wills days, we had lots of lovely shops around the world, but a particularly lovely one was at Dean Clough Mills in Yorkshire. Built in the mid 1800’s, Dean Clough was the largest carpet factory in the world, exporting woollen carpets to all corners of the British Empire. We completely restored at vast expense our building (the original dye works). And we did that because of the history and heritage of the building and its association with wool. (Editor’s note: this building was so loved, the owners commissioned a perfect replica of it to be made in Lego!)

Our core philosophy at Aubin is to work with people that we know and trust, wherever in the world they are, who are the best in the business and who share our values. Much of our knitwear is made with the same Hong Kong supplier I have personally known for over 25 years and is still run by the Founder. There is literally nothing this man doesn’t know about making a superb jumper.

 But we’re also very proud of the work we’ve done to use more British wool in our ranges. Contrary to what you hear on Country File and Grand Designs, it’s not
just for carpet tiles and wall insulation (although it is great for this!). It also makes a brilliant jumper. Thanks to the outstanding work of our British supply base, the hand feel is softer than ever and can no longer be considered an all over skin exfoliator.

Our core reference points at Aubin for inspiration always lie in British cultural and design heritage. And you don’t need a terribly extensive Pinterest search to see the central role wool has played in Britain over the years. It is from this that Aubin takes much of its lead, be that Aran jumpers as sported by such style icons as King Charles and Steve McQueen. Fair Isle knits as worn by McCartney and that other great style icon Granville in Open all Hours. Rollneck lambswool sweaters as worn by the Milk Tray Man. Or heavyweight British Navy inspired submariner’s jackets, built to keep the elements out while navigating the high seas. The list goes on.

Much of the historical wealth of Britain was built on the wool trade. And it is no surprise - wool is the unsung hero that has been around for centuries. It rather fell out of favour and seemed old fashioned when man-made fibres started to appear in the 1970s and ‘80s. But now the world has started to actually give a shit about the environment and sustainability, it has had a justifiable and long overdue resurgence in interest and love.

So please join us in shouting about what a great fibre it is. Sustainable, warm, and looks ace. You don’t need to gild the lily with wool, it does what it says on the tin.

October is Wool Month and we are proud to be long standing supporters of the Campaign for wool