harold XXL snood merino wool & silk - Black

Eight months before the release, I think up all the different pieces in a collection.

First my ideas come to life through sketches and drawings, then the pieces begin to take shape when I choose the materials and colours. Delicate lace and often graphic, visual embroidery, bold guipure... I always work with natural fibres and in particular with merino and silk blends. Our raw materials come from France and Italy.

Quality shapes all of my choices: the gauge of a knit, the softness, the delicacy of the finishes, the subtlety of the colours.

Using this information, our pattern maker creates a preliminary pattern and we begin to adjust the model. We pour all our love into the fitting (the perfect adjustment of the model): we carry out tests on many different body shapes and we take great care with each size to ensure that our pieces are as comfortable as they are flattering.

Washing, drying, storage

• Our pieces can be machine washed on a wool or delicate cycle, preferably cold, with regular detergent.< /li>
• Ideally, slip it into a washing bag which will protect the fibers (pssst: a pillow size can also act as a washing bag!). Or discover the washing bags GuppyFriend.
• We do not recommend the use of fabric softeners or bleach. And, as usual, we recommend washing colors separately.
• The ideal is to dry your pieces flat, so that the weight of the water does not deform the fibers. Iron on the reverse side if necessary (for the smooth side only and with an iron not too hot).
• Then store them folded rather than hanging, always to avoid deforming them :)

Pilling

Wool has a natural tendency to pill, this is due to the shorter fibers rising to the surface fabric. To prevent this phenomenon, wash your pieces after wearing them two or three times. And if possible, when washing, slip your tops into a washing pouch which will prevent the fibers from breaking.

Merino wool is a natural and renewable resource with numerous qualities. Unlike other sheep, merino sheep can survive the scorching summers and freezing winters of the New Zealand Alps. Its ultra-light fleece is breathable, simple, efficient, and ingenious:

- Softness: Merino wool has very fine fibers that bend against the skin. Our pieces are incredibly soft and comfortable.

- Resilience: Merino fiber has excellent stretch and recovery. It doesn't break when stretched and easily regains its original shape.

- Thermoregulation: Merino wool is a technically active fiber, capable of absorbing or releasing heat. It absorbs moisture, releasing a bit of warmth, and the reverse process occurs when it's hot. It's like wearing an air conditioning system.

- Moisture Management: Merino fiber can absorb up to 35% of its weight before appearing wet, making it much more comfortable and keeping you dry longer, even compared to most synthetic fibers.

- Odor Reduction: Body odor molecules are absorbed by the fiber, allowing your clothing to resist odors much better than others – practical! Our wool comes from RWS-certified farms, ensuring animal well-being (mulesing is also banned there).

Natural, delicate, and soft to the touch, silk is the perfect complement to merino wool. It allows colors to shine. We use mulberry silk, the most luxurious, breathable, and lightweight type. Mulberry silk is hypoallergenic, adding exceptional softness to our knits, and it also absorbs moisture.

For the homewear line, I chose to create a capsule collection in micromodal, which offers many advantages: it is breathable, remains soft and supple while retaining its shape, limits the proliferation of odors and bacteria. Unlike cotton, micromodal does not retain water and therefore dries much faster. It provides a more cost-effective alternative to merino wool. Micromodal is obtained by extracting cellulose from beech wood, which is transformed into liquid by the addition of chemicals and then spun into yarn, ready to be woven. Lenzing's micromodal is particularly well-studied: they manufacture it from already cut or FSC-certified wood in a closed-loop process to limit pollution and the release of chemicals (95% of the chemicals used are recycled). All of this is done in Austria, not far from our Italian workshop. Its production requires 10 to 20 times less water than cotton.

The Dentelle de Calais-Caudry® label is a guarantee of the excellence of High Lace, made in France, following the rules of the art that have made its reputation for centuries. It distinguishes luxury woven lace from the much more common knitted lace. For more details, you can visit www.ffdb.net.

My collections are made in Italy, 385 km away from our offices in Lyon.

I have been committed to working faithfully with the same people since I started in 2018. It was crucial that I found a manufacturer I could trust, one that worked closely with me and was part of the team: I chose Mr. Alberto. His small business lies in the heart of the region that has always worked with merino wool, he learned from his father and passed on his love and know-how to his daughters. Today, the team is almost exclusively female. I go to the factory every year to develop the collections, to meet the people who work on our collections: to chat, to share ideas, to grow together to deliver the best possible results.

I know for sure that the workers' rights are being protected (social responsibility, freedom of association, working hours, non-discrimination, prohibition of child and forced labour, payment of a minimum wage, safety in the workplace, environmental protection, waste management, etc.).