Oamaru Mail article and image: 1 November 2024 by Jules Chin
An Oamaru company is creating a ‘‘Kiwi version’’ of tweed in an innovative project restoring wool to the heart of sustainability.
Boutique weaving company McLean & Co are collaborators in a new sustainable fashion brand called Precious Collaborative and led by Wanaka designer Claire O’Connell.
New Zealand-made tweed, handwoven on Hattersley looms by specialist weavers Rod and Sue McLean in Oamaru will be used to manufacture limited-edition woollen coats worthy of an art collection.
The new sustainable brand is about reinventing wool manufacturing in a bold approach where luxury meets accessibility.
New Zealand fashion luminary Liz Mitchell, the first designer to collaborate on the project, is creating a one-of-a-kind coat that blends timeless artistry with the finest sustainable materials.
And here’s the twist: proceeds from the coats will fund Precious Collaborative’s everyday sustainable collection, making high-quality fashion more accessible.
The McLeans said to be working on the project was ‘‘very exciting’’.
It was the first time they had collaborated with O’Connell, who they have known for many years, and also with ‘‘fashion legend’’ Liz Mitchell, who is known for her passion for wool. The McLeans are about to send the first fabric they have woven in the tweed tradition to Mitchell. The tweed has a personal link for O'Connell, whose forebears originate from County Donegal, in the northwest of Ireland. Mrs McLean said they worked with O'Connell on which colours and yarns to use in order to produce the unique tweed. ‘‘It’s definitely the only one of its kind.’’
O’Connell said to work with established weavers such as the McLeans was ‘‘amazing’’.
‘‘I knew that they had the Hattersley Weaving system and I knew that they used 100% wool yarn, quite often a product with a backstory.
‘‘So, as I developed the idea for the project, it made sense to ask if they would be interested in supplying fabric for the designer’s coats.’’ O’Connell said.
One coat will use 8m of the uniquely designed, Oamaru woven tweed.
It will be named after Oamaru streets and rivers in the United Kingdom, in a nod to the looms’ origins, and the birthplace of the fabric.
Once the fabric had been planned, woven, washed, checked and ironed, there was close to two hours per metre of work, Mrs McLean said.
At the heart of Precious Collaborative was an ethos to use New Zealand suppliers and manufacturers where possible.
The limited-edition coat would lead the charge for the Precious Collaborative ‘‘one to many’’ model, where the sale of high-end, collectable pieces would fund a ‘‘more affordable’’ staple of tailored, wool and hemp streetwear.
Mrs McLean said they were committed to the idea of more sustainability.
When it came to consumerism and the fashion industry, ‘‘there won’t be a change unless people take the little steps to make the change’’, she said.
Precious Collaborative with Mitchell will launch the couture coats in Wanaka in December.