Woolmark dresses the Gondoliers of Venice as the crew of Prada Luna Rossa

«The 36th America's Cup campaign alongside Luna Rossa [...] finally saw a technical uniform created in Merino wool in a space traditionally dominated by synthetic fibers» explained Francesco Magri, Regional Manager Europe, C&E of 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 gondoliers of Venice». Two Italian icons that enter into dialogue through The Woolmark Company, therefore, enhancing the role of wool as the next level of the search for sustainable materials. The campaign From the America's Cup to the Gondoliers of Venice sees among the participants Max Sirena, Team Director and Skipper – Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Team, in support of the extraordinary union between Venice, the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli team and that common thread in Merino wool.

In addition to being biodegradable and requiring fewer resources for its production, in fact, wool is also water-repellent, elastic and isothermal – it is no coincidence that until the 70s most of the technical or sports uniforms were made of wool, which was later replaced by the cheaper but also more polluting synthetic fibers. The Prada Luna Rossa team represents, in this sense, the ideal testing ground for another, historic team of the sea, that of the Gondoliers, which shares with the first the status of icon of Italian culture in the world. Moreover, the Gondoliers of Venice face even more closely the issue of sustainability of which the lagoon city is one of the main frontiers, having to face the problem of rising seas and water pollution year after year. 

The new Gondoliers uniforms will therefore be composed of the same highly breathable T-shirt and the waterproof technical fabric blouson used by sailors, flanked by an iconic striped sweater made with a new 100% merino wool yarn with high performance – all fabrics that combine the high degree of technical resistance with the ecological and sustainable credentials that are needed by every fashion collection in 2021.