Born from the desire to provide beautifully crafted, quality knitwear using New Zealand sourced wool at an accessible price point, new brand, Knitted, promises full transparency of its supply chain and aims to break the barrier between quality and price for its consumers. Founder Cameo Turner has spent the last 18 months researching, sourcing, and unpacking the many steps it takes to create a high-quality New Zealand made wool garment. From sources in the deep southern Catlins to the Tauranga coast, Knitted garments tell a story, each one traceable, tested and of the highest possible quality.
“From the outset, the goal has been to ensure that every step of the process from start to finish was here, in New Zealand. The sheep and goat stations sell the shorn wool which goes through a grading process, it is then sent offshore to be scoured and baled. It was unbelievable at first but despite wool being one of our biggest exports, there isn’t actually a location in New Zealand that does this (only for the cashmere that gets processed in Lower Hutt),” said Founder Cameo Pollock-Turner.
“That’s where I was determined to still be transparent, at Knitted, I want our supply chain to be completely traceable.”
Once the scoured and combed merino wool comes home it is blended with either cashmere or possum and silk and then dyed at Wool Yarns. Once it is spun onto large cones, the merino cashmere blend heads to Beverly Productions and the Merino, Possum and Silk blend as well as pure merino heads to MKM in Palmerston North.
Both knitwear production companies machine knitted panels and then cut, stitch and sewn the garments together. The Knitted ethos from the outset will be centered around regenerative practices, ensuring every step is always considered from an environmental standpoint, as well as pushing the wool industry to continue innovating and upskilling so that other kiwi designers can also strive to keep their manufacturing here in New Zealand without the financial impact.
“The more designers that use New Zealand-based methods of wool sourcing and manufacturing, the more demand is proved, and the more we as a nation can innovate and nurture an industry that many kiwis consider to be part of our cultural identities,” said Turner.
“Currently the options are slim to none for scouring, especially for small scale producers, and no one does combing here, I would really love to see these key processes be reinstated and see more designers able to keep their whole production chain here in New Zealand.”
There will be six styles in the first Knitted collection, released in two drops, this June and again in early Spring. All styles are modern and timeless, designed to be incorporated into any woman’s wardrobe for a relaxed or considered approach to fashion. The versatility of the 100% merino and other blends makes Knitted garments transeasonal to complement New Zealand’s varied seasonal weather patterns; the Audrey knit is an extra-fine merino long-sleeve in classic black, the Edie cardigan is a natural marle in possum and silk-merino blend cardigan with shell buttons and the Jacqui v-neck merino-cashmere blend in peri-winkle.
Slightly warmer styles include the Renee oversized merino-cashmere blend pocket cardigan in camel designed for winter laying and the Lorenzo merino-cashmere blend zip jumper in French vanilla.
Knitted styles are all produced in limited runs to ensure that the brand can slowly build on quality and price, putting into the market only what works, what people love and what doesn’t compromise on the intention to create timeless and seasonless designs that will last a lifetime. Turner will continue to refine her production, always striving for improvement, and always providing Knitted consumers with complete transparency in all facets of the brand, for example disclosing the brand stands to make 0% profit from the first collection.
Knitted is available online now.
