Wolford and Woolmark launch a merino wool bodywear capsule

Wolford and Woolmark have launched their first collaboration: a merino wool bodywear capsule that drops Thursday. The Austrian hosiery and bodywear house worked with the fiber certifier for more than a year on prototypes, resolving what chairman and CEO Marco Pozzo called 'technological barriers' in yarns, dyeing and laundry tests.

Pozzo, named to lead Bregenz-based Wolford in March, described the goal in an interview: a natural second-skin feel combining merino's breathability, thermoregulation and odor management with Wolford's seamless construction, circular knitting and bodywear engineering. The Woolmark certification, he added, guarantees the fiber is exceptional and sustainable.

The capsule

The collection is split into two stories. Pure Wool carries a sleeveless and a long-sleeve top made from 100 percent merino wool. Seamless Wool blends 85 percent merino with stretch, and holds a dress, a sleeveless top, a skirt and a bodysuit. A top retails at 295 euros.

Colors run from butter cream and red through to dark wood and black. Wolford will run a dedicated campaign dubbed 'second skin crafted in wool.' The house has not disclosed how many pieces each style is limited to, nor whether the capsule extends to accessories or legwear.

Creative director Nao Takekoshi, in the role since 2023, framed the pieces around quiet confidence rather than display. For him, sensuality is about how a woman feels, and a fabric that moves with the body creates that confidence. He described the result as simple, intimate, naturally feminine and quietly luxurious.

Woolmark Italy's regional manager Francesco Magri said engineering the pure wool tops from 100 percent merino through seamless construction posed a unique challenge, one that demanded close work across fiber science, yarn development and manufacturing. The certification, he noted, gives consumers confidence in fiber content and quality.

Pozzo has used the capsule to underline merino's renewable and biodegradable qualities, positioning the house's collections as premium and high performance while supporting a more responsible approach to fashion. The move lands as he pushes a gradual strengthening of a business that has been loss-making.

The turnaround

The turn is visible in the figures. Wolford's operating loss narrowed 55.2 percent to 10.2 million euros in the first half of 2026, from 22.7 million a year earlier. Revenue was 31 million euros against 33 million. Full-year 2025 sales were 75 million euros.

Pozzo said the company reviewed internal processes and shut more than 40 underperforming stores, working through structural inefficiencies. In 2024 Wolford was hit by headwinds across supply chain, production and logistics. 'We are now in a new development phase,' he told WWD.

The network

Wolford now operates 80 directly owned stores and 40 franchised units. Retail generates 40 percent of sales, wholesale 30 percent and online 30 percent, with the brand carried in more than 1,000 wholesale accounts. Rather than an aggressive store plan, Pozzo is allocating resources to product innovation.

The store concept itself is under review, and alongside wholesalers Wolford is shifting department-store presentation away from single categories toward total looks at El Corte Inglés, Printemps, Harrods and Selfridges. Ready-to-wear and layer-dressing styling have been strengthened, while legwear still drives 46 percent of total sales.

Men's underwear and socks are sold in Wolford stores but remain, in Pozzo's words, 'a tactical opportunity.' Europe is the main market, led by the DACH countries of Germany, Austria and Switzerland, followed by the United States, where the average customer skews younger than in Europe.

Pozzo is eyeing China, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and India with the support of local partners. The house has a long history of collaborations, having worked with Mugler, Jean Paul Gaultier, Karl Lagerfeld, Vivienne Westwood, Missoni, Valentino, Giorgio Armani, Adidas, GCDS and Sergio Rossi, among others.

The CEO believes in that model, and said more such pairings are coming. The Woolmark link is the first with the certifier specifically, a body that has spent decades helping leading brands find new applications for merino wool.

Wolford has been listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange since 1995 and has sat within the Lanvin Group, the global luxury fashion house, since 2018. The group controls Lanvin, Sergio Rossi and St. John, and is itself mid-strategic-reset after selling Caruso to MondeVita Italy in February.

Pozzo joined Wolford as deputy CEO in July 2025 from the Ermenegildo Zegna Group, where he managed Zegna Mexico, ran Greater China as chief operating officer, and later directed global retail operations out of Milan. He arrived as the company completed a 25 million euro capital increase to fund its reset.

He succeeded Regis Rimbert, who left in January after six months in the job. The capsule is the first product story to land under his leadership, and the clearest statement yet of the premium, high-performance direction he says he is taking the house.

The collaboration drops Thursday in Wolford stores and online, with no further dates given for whether the capsule will be restocked or extended. For now, the seven pieces are proof of concept that merino can be worn next to the skin in what Pozzo calls a natural second skin.