Future-proof fibre
Liz Mitchell MNZM is the director and creative force behind the Liz Mitchell atelier and Liz Mitchell Homeware. As a champion for the New Zealand wool industry, Liz has centred her design practice around this regenerative fibre. As a child, Liz spent time feeding lambs and assisting in the wool shed at her grandparents’ sheep and dairy farm, where she developed an appreciation and understanding of the animals and the fibre they produced. Liz was taught by her mother to knit, which was her introduction to sustainable creativity and the synchronicity of human relationships and craft. Whether in Liz’s made-to-order fashion, fine art, or homeware products, her design practice falls under a framework of circularity and community, with the environmental and economic benefits of wool at the centre point.
“By the day, we are edging nearer toward environmental catastrophe as a result of unconsidered mass production, the demand for quick turnarounds in the fashion and design space, and the overbearing waste mismanagement across manufacturing,” says Liz. “The impact of unaccountability across our industry is very much a lived reality for countries that are the backbone of the first stages in the supply chain, and it’s critical we find solutions that rectify this.”
At the time Liz kick-started her bespoke career in the nineties, innovation and investment in wool were thriving. Yet, with the rise of fast fashion and the convenience of synthetic fibres, the demand for New Zealand wool has dropped, making agricultural investments more expensive for farmers, fibres less accessible for manufacturers, and the qualities of wool less available to New Zealand consumers. The mission behind Liz’s wool-centred design has always been to close such detachments in the wool supply chain by building a network that enables more human touch points between farmers, fibre developers, designers, and manufacturers – maximising the environmental and economic benefits of the fibre through slower production demands and sharing knowledge and resources to bring wool back home.
Liz believes wool’s versatility is unparalleled by any other fibre. She continues to explore its endless textural and creative possibilities at her textile development lab, which is researching wool felting techniques, an ancient art used throughout Liz Mitchell Homeware products. These products are just as valuable at the end of their life as they are when purchased, as a result of their biodegradability when re-entering the earth.
In 2024, Liz Mitchell and her team will continue to spearhead exciting developments for New Zealand wool. Liz and her Campaign for Wool New Zealand partners are advancing resources, knowledge, and scientific innovations to showcase wool’s technical prowess and its ecological benefits. Liz’s partnership with Palliser Ridge Station in South Wairarapa, highlighted by their collaboration on a wool-based capsule travel wardrobe last year, continues to flourish. Joining the Wool On showcase as a judge this July, Liz looks forward to a competition that highlights the design potential of wool yet holds space for both emerging and established fashion designers.
Liz is proud to be part of a community at the forefront of addressing the challenges of today’s wool industry and working toward solutions through this regenerative fibre. Her design-led approach highlights New Zealand’s strong wool as a circular resource and puts wool design back on the world stage.
“The New Zealand wool industry is one we can be incredibly proud of and should continue to invest in – both its products and its people.”