Alessi, Ferrari, Piaggio, Alfa Romeo, Armani, Boss, Luciano Barbera, Loro Piana, Ermenegildo Zegna and Gucci all have two things in common - Italian style and quality.

Designer Blythe Rees-Jones of Locus Research Ltd is in Italy as a recipient of the 2009 Biella Merino Ambassador scholarship. This is the first of a series of posts about his experiences on the study trip.

Alessi, Ferrari, Piaggio, Alfa Romeo, Armani, Boss, Luciano Barbera, Loro Piana, Ermenegildo Zegna and Gucci all have two things in common  - Italian style and quality.

So, if I was to ask you what New Zealand Merino wool has in common with Italy, some may say not a lot, but to a group of NZ Merino farmers there is a very strong connection between Italian style and our magic white fibre from the depths of the South Island.

It all begins in a small remote place called Biella (an area not too dissimilar to where our Merino fibre is grown) at the foot of the Italian Alps. Biella is an integral part of the high end fashion industry of Italy and has a long standing tradition in producing the finest and highest quality woollen and worsted textiles on the planet. Many of the largest fashion brands are either based out of Biella or purchase a large percentage of their materials from the broader Biellese region.

Historically, the majority of NZ Merino is purchased by Italian companies and processed in Biella into superfine high end products. NZ Merino is highly regarded by the Italians for its fibre quality: low micron (diameter), good crimp (providing elongation), optimum staple length (for perfect blending), whiteness, and low vegetable matter or contaminates (for dyeing, handle and aesthetics).

Currently I am in Biella as part of the Biella Master of Noble Fibres Programme which is sponsored by Meat & Wool New Zealand and Merino Inc., and organized by Merino Inc. and The New Zealand Merino Company. It is an Italian textiles initiative set up to bring factories and artists together and to foster the handing down of knowledge, skills and entrepreneurial ability for the prosperity of both New Zealand Merino and the Italian textiles industry. Essentially, for New Zealand it's an industry development opportunity with the scholarship enabling members of the NZ industry to submerge themselves in the operations within Italy, and in return Italian textile students can travel to New Zealand to experience what goes into growing the fibre before it arrives into Europe.

I applied for this scholarship because I am interested in understanding more about the history and processes involved in the production of Merino in both New Zealand and Italy, and because I believe there is a real opportunity for New Zealand design to play a larger role in adding value to this renewable material.

My subsequent blog entries will form a summary of the time I've spent in Italy; the interesting places we visit, the industry leaders we meet, and potentially the opportunities that we see for the future.

Grazie & Salute.