The Woolmark Company is celebrating the success of Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli by dressing Venice gondoliers with the same high-performance fabrics worn by the sailing team that participated in the 36th edition of the America’s Cup in 2021.
Photo: The Woolmark Company
Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli boat during the 36th America's Cup
The partnership between The Woolmark Company, the Associazione Gondolieri and Al Duca D’Aosta Merino Venetian gondolier associations, started in 2017. It was just renewed in 2021 and underlines how innovation and tradition merge while also stressing the technical qualities and sustainable characteristics of wool.
The Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli athletic team had already tested wool’s technical characteristics but now another group that spends many hours on the water and has to be prepared to deal with changeable weather is wearing this eco-friendly material.
Photo: The Woolmark Company
Prada Luna Rossa Pirelli uniform
Merino wool is 100% natural, renewable and biodegradable and presents many properties including elasticity, breathability, thermoregulation and waterproofness–combined with eco-friendly and sustainable credentials, all very suitable for sports activities.
Photo: The Woolmark company
Venice gondoliers' new uniform in Merino mool
The gondoliers’ new uniform will incorporate the same highly breathable T-shirt and the waterproof blouson in technical fabric worn by sailing athletes, together with an iconic striped sweater made with a new 100% high-performance Merino wool yarn.
“The 36th America's Cup campaign alongside Luna Rossa was a success, especially because it finally saw a technical uniform created in Merino wool in a space traditionally dominated by synthetic fibers,” said Francesco Magri, regional manager Europe, C&E, The Woolmark Company. “Today, thanks to the research and development activities carried out with the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli team, these innovative and high-performance Merino wool fabrics also dress the historic category of Venice Gondoliers. The new uniform helps them to approach their work in a sustainable and responsible way, representing the perfect example of how an innovative technological solution–sought after for sports in which maximum performance is central–often then becomes part of everyday life.”
Photo: The Woolmark Company
Max Sirena, team director and skipper, Luna Rossa, and a gondolier
The partnership is promoted by the launch of the campaign “From America’s Cup to Venice's gondoliers” involving Max Sirena, team director and skipper, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Team.
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