Perino by Woolyarns and Barkers Menswear joined forces again to bring to life a collection of high-end knitted garments and accessories with a New Zealand sourced, and New Zealand made story.
Barkers Menswear are a New Zealand fashion and lifestyle brand that have been operational since the 1970’s. They pride themselves on the quality goods they stock in their stores around New Zealand and on several occasions have teamed up with local artisans to collaborate on a range of menswear and accessories.
When looking to expand their winter line in 2020, Barkers were looking for a unique and luxurious product that provided a point of difference in the market while still offering their customers good value for money. Barkers also faced challenges around giving their new line a New Zealand sourced and New Zealand made narrative, with their existing supply chain partners for knitted goods predominantly based offshore. They enlisted the help of the sales team at Woolyarns for a solution.
Woolyarns are yarn manufacturers based in Wellington, New Zealand that specialize in producing Perino – a range of luxurious yarns that combine opulent fibres such as cashmere, New Zealand ZQ merino and premium Oeko-Tex certified Mulberry silk with one the most unique fibres in the world – Brushtail Possum down.
Woolyarns use Brushtail Possum down in their Perino yarn blends that is sustainably sourced in specific regions of New Zealand. Due to the incredibly low micron of possum fibre, Perino is luxuriously light, seductively soft and its low propensity to pilling makes for a more durable and long-wearing garment compared to cashmere or merino alone. Perino knitted fabrics are proven to be up to 35% warmer than 100% cashmere and 55% warmer than 100% merino.
Barkers and Woolyarns worked together to select a yarn blend suitable for the project. The Perino Nimbus blend of ZQ Merino, Brushtail Possum down and Mulberry silk was chosen before Barkers went on to develop a colour palette for the collection. To add to the New Zealand made story Woolyarns connected Barkers with a specialized knitting manufacturer in the Bay of Plenty. The collaboration saw the knitter work closely with Woolyarns and the Barkers team as they customized designs and created the range of garments and accessories to Barkers strict specifications.
Woolyarns provided an e-learning module to help equip in-store staff with the knowledge to sell the product and to educate them on the unique benefits of Perino yarns and Brushtail Possum down fibres. Important care and product use information was provided to customers on swing tags, and Woolyarns provided garment tags that reflected the premium quality of the garments. For further information about Perino yarns contact us here.