Wool showcased at the America’s Cup

Woolmark returned as the official technical partner for the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli sailing team for the 37th America’s Cup and its preliminary regattas held from September 2023 through to October this year. The collaboration followed on from the highly successful showcase of Australian wool during the previous America’s Cup.  

With a focus on technical performance, and the added benefit of not contributing to microplastic pollution in the world’s oceans, Merino wool is the preferred apparel fibre for Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli. 

Woolmark co-developed the sailing team’s Merino wool-rich performance-driven training and racing uniforms. The custom-made kit included Merino wool-rich T-shirts, hoodies, shorts, leggings, a cycling suit, a waterproof jacket and a revolutionary ultralight windbreaker.  

AWI CEO John Roberts says that product innovation was a crucial factor when designing the technical kit for the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli team.  

“With a focus on lightness, elasticity, strength and moisture wicking properties, our internal experts met with the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli product development team armed with a selection of the best commercially available Merino wool fabrics. Where further development was needed, the teams worked together to create unique fabrics destined to deliver the added element,” John said. 

The iconic Woolmark logo, owned by Australian woolgrowers, was proudly displayed on the sleave of all the apparel as well as on the sails of the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli yachts during training and racing. 

“Through Woolmark’s support of the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli team at the 36th and 37th America’s Cups in 2021 and 2024, Australian Merino wool has been showcased to millions of potential customers," John added. 

"Furthermore, significant interest has been generated from global apparel brands that have since worked with Woolmark on product development initiatives. It has been a marketing triumph." 

“This partnership has cemented the strong link between the world of sport and the world’s original performance fibre, Merino wool.” 
- John Roberts, AWI CEO 

World class performances in wool 

The Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli sailing team performed fantastically well during this past year’s series of races. The team progressed as far as the final of the Louis Vuitton Cup in Spain, where it was narrowly beaten by the Ineos Brittania team which won the right to challenge the defending Emirates Team New Zealand in the America’s Cup. 

For the first time at the America’s Cup, there was also a women’s competition, known as the Puig Women’s America’s Cup, and a youth (under 25 years) competition known as the Unicredit Youth America’s Cup.  

Like the men’s Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli team, the women’s and youth teams wore the wool-rich uniforms during training and racing, and the Woolmark logo was displayed on the sails of each of their yachts. In spectacular results, both teams convincingly won their respective America’s Cup competitions, which reflects exceptionally well on the wool-rich uniforms that they wore. 

The Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli women’s (left) and youth (right) teams celebrating winning the inaugural women’s and youth America’s Cups respectively. 

“This partnership has not only emphasised the functional superiority of Merino wool but also reaffirmed our dedication to advancing its use in high-performance sports into the future.  

“By equipping the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli team with these specialised garments, Woolmark has redefined athletic apparel and proved that natural fibres can excel under any conditions,” John added. 

Much more than a race… 

Woolmark’s partnership with the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli sailing team was about much more than simply developing and equipping the team with wool-rich training and racing apparel. The project enabled Woolmark to amplify the benefits of Merino wool as a performance fibre to an enormous, global consumer and trade audience. 

The 37th America’s Cup regatta was attended by 2.5 million people during the 59 days of the event in Spain, and it was broadcast globally to millions more fans across multiple platforms. 

Business development 

Woolmark invited CEOs and other senior trade contacts to the regatta to showcase to them the Merino wool-rich apparel in action in an innovative, performance setting. The ultimate aim was to encourage them to use more wool in their own collections and consider partnering with Woolmark in future business development projects. 

Amongst others, those invited by Woolmark were from Zegna Baruffa, Loro Piana, Vitale Barberis Canonico, Reda Group, Schneider Group, Benetton, Tod’s, Mover Sportswear, Pitti Immagine, Italian Fashion Council. IWTO president Klaus Steger also attended. 

During the past few years, Woolmark has also been exhibiting the innovative Merino wool-rich sailing gear to a trade audience in its booths at trade shows and other events. Imagery from the project has often also been included in the design of the Woolmark booth. 

Press coverage 

The Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Merino wool-rich apparel has garnered much press coverage during the past few years and especially during the regatta. Woolmark invited 19 members of the press – from Italy, Spain, France and Germany – to the regatta resulting in further positive coverage of Merino wool being used as a performance fibre.  

During the project from 2022 to 2024, the print, online and social media readership totalled an enormous 2.2 billion, worth $7.0 million in adverting value. There were a total of 815 media clippings comprising 458 print and online clippings and 357 social media clippings. 

An example of recent press coverage about the Merino wool apparel in La Gazzetta dello Sport, the most important sports newspaper in Italy. 

Influencer engagement 

Woolmark also invited 17 influencers – from Italy, Spain and France – to the regattas. They posted imagery and positive messages about Merino wool to their followers, who total 3.7 million on Instagram. Their posts generated an earned media value of $1.05 million.  

Examples of imagery posted by the influencers. Pictured are Luca Vezil and Giovanni Masiero. 

Woolmark social media 

Woolmark also used the partnership as a launch pad to educate consumers about the performance benefits of wool, running a social campaign across its Woolmark YouTube, Instagram and Facebook channels. In 2024 alone, the social campaign received 181.6 million impressions (the number of times the campaign was seen) and 9.6 million video views, which were both more than three times Woolmark’s target. 

Woolmark Performance Challenge 

The Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli sailing team was also Woolmark’s partner for the 2023 edition of the Woolmark Performance Challenge. This competition encourages tertiary students from across the world to develop innovative new product applications for Merino wool within the sports and outdoor market. The 2023 finalists developed innovative new uses for Merino wool applicable to the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli team, from Merino wool blended with marine waste to glucose-releasing technology. 

Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli team members Romano Battisti and Bruno Rosetti, with AWI Regional Manager, Central & Eastern Europe Francesco Magri, presenting the 2023 Woolmark Performance Challenge award to the winner of the competition, Joon Han from South Korea, at the ISPO sporting and outdoor goods trade show in Munich, Germany, in November 2023.  

This article appeared in the December 2024 edition of AWI’s Beyond the Bale magazine. Reproduction of the article is encouraged.