Fine wool from Savile Row

The luxury fine wool from Savile Row is the core fabric used by Cleo in her collections. This fabric is made of 98% fine Merino wool and 2% Lycra. Only a small percentage of Lycra is needed for the fabric to get all the benefits of crease recovery and improved durability. This unique luxurious high-tech fabric is one of Cleo’s favourites to use, offering the ideal amount of drape and structure for more relaxed styles like the crop trousers and kimono shirts. It’s also perfect for her luxury tailored jackets. Soft to the touch, versatile and brought to life with an amazing range of colours and checks.

100% worsted fine wool from Savile Row

The worsted wool is a slightly heavier weight. This wool Cleo uses in many different styles, it adds extra weight and sheen and is an inherently durable fabric. 

Worsted wool comes from specific breeds of sheep with really long fibres. Once sheared, the long wool is intricately combed - unlike other wools. The long fibres lie flatter and neater and it forms a very tight, hard yarn when spun, with little space between the fibres. When woven into fabric, worsted wool has a tighter weave with slightly shiny finish, and makes for a robust mid to light weight, silk-like fabric. This technique dates back as far as the 12th century to a place called
 Worstead in Norfolk, where the technique was invented. Typically used for uniforms throughout the years, it is now valued for its durable, unique silk-like nature. Cleo’s crop jacket and dual tailored trousers feature this wool, and we’ve had wonderful customer feedback for the feeling of ‘newness’ this fabric maintains after years of wear.

These are just a couple of the fabrics that Cleo sources from her Savile Row supplier. This particular mill has been supplying  luxury brands and tailors with some of the finest wool in the world for over 180 years. Starting out in Golden Square, London and since the early 1900s holding their HQ residence on the famous Savile Row. Their expertise not only led to a diverse range of colourful and innovative wools but some of the best in performance, quality and durability in the world. Not to mention their sustainable care, which includes their main factory which is powered completely by wood pellets and hazelnuts and where they process the raw wool, dye it and weave it, having full control of the ethical and sustainable standards in which their stunning cloths are produced.

Magee’s of Donegal

Cleo chose to use Magee of Donegal wool for her AW19 collection. Seen on Cleo’s signature Bomber Coat, this fabric design in particular was based on St Bridget’s cross, with its bold interconnecting shape dotted with pops of blue, orange, yellow and green. A thick loose weave gives it a blanket-like warmth when worn. It takes one whole day to set up the loom in order achieve the intricacy and modernity of this textile.

Cleo also works with Magee’s tweed, finding their fabrics a perfect mix between the traditional and contemporary, coupled with their mindful sustainable ethos and quality. 
 
You can read more about Magee’s sustainable mindset on their website.

Irish Linen

Made from all natural fibres, Irish linen is one of the most sustainable fabrics around . Cleo uses linen in a mixture of ways from the East meets West dress with its flowing silhouette, to the more tailored pieces like the Linen curve jacket. Linen provides the signature sharpness Cleo loves, while also giving a light and airy feel for her summer collections. Sourced from a supplier in Wexford which holds an extravagant colour palette and which is also part of the Irish Linen Guild, who endorse and protect genuine Irish linen mills.

Flax, the plant from which linen is made, is the epitome of a sustainable natural fibre: every part of the flax plant has traditionally been used to create the yarn from which linen is woven—nothing is wasted, and production is cost effective. It uses much less water to process than similar fibres such as cotton and is actually the oldest fabric in the world.